Recovery
by CandySandy123
Summary: when Nick and Judy are assigned to a case by Bogo, they thought it would be like any other one. Soon enough, they're proven wrong. When someone from a bad part of Nick's past shows up, eventually leaving Nick hospitalized, he feels like he's lost his sense of worth. This book will go deeper into Nick's past and how he truly feels.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my new story. Just a trigger warning, there are mentions of panic attacks, mental health problems, possibly self harm, suicide, etc. If you are triggered by that stuff, please don't read my story. I don't want you to be triggered... Please keep yourself safe. And if you ever need to talk to someone, text GO to 741-741 to be connected to a crisis text line. If you don't have a mobile phone, there are plenty of numbers for suicide hotlines. I'm pretty sure it's against the rules to put numbers up, so I'd advise you to google it. Stay safe, friends.**

"Nick. Judy. I've called you into my office I'm assigning you to a special case. I think you two are the best for this particular one." Chief Bogo said, eyeing them both.

"Yes Chief! What's the case?" Judy said excitedly.

Nick, the less enthusiastic of the two simply smirked slightly and waited for the case. Bogo reached into his desk and pulled out a file.

"There's a zebra who has been robbing stores all around the area. They seem to be mostly toy based stores. Can't imagine what he's want so many toys for. Anyways, I'm assigning you two to find him and bring him down."

Judy took the file.

"We're on the case chief!"

"Good. Dismissed."

The two hopped up from their chairs and stared to walk out of the door.

"Oh, and one more thing" Bogo called from behind them.

They turned around and he continued.

"The suspect's name is Conner Greyson."

Nick's ears perked up. That name sounded so familiar to him, but he couldn't place it.

"He's one of the most manipulative ones out there. He'll try to trick you into letting him go, or he'll catch you off guard, but don't let him win. I know you two can do this."

Judy smiled "Thanks chief! We'll bring him to justice!"

"Uh... Yeah.. We- we'll get him." Nick mumbled.

They walked out of Bogo's office and into Judy's. They sat down at her desk, opened the file, and got to work.

Judy spoke up.

"Alright. It looks like he's robbed Zeke's Toy store, Action Figures R us, Sammy's Stuffed Animals, Jake's Junction For Toy Cars, and Sara's super toys. Hmm... There must be a pattern. Nick, get the map of the city I have out of my desk."

Nick pulled out the map and they studied it.

"Hmm... I can't seem to- wait.. Nick look! All these toy stores are being robbed in the direction of the Tundra district. So that means-"

"The next robbery will probably be at

..." 

Nick studied the map a little more.

"Pam's toy planes!"

"Alright! Looks like we'll be doing a steak out." Judy said, pounding her hand on her desk.

Nick nodded "Sounds good, carrots."

(6 hours later)

It was midnight and Nick and Judy had been hanging out near the toy store for about 2 hours parked in an alleyway.

Judy was watching for the zebra like a hawk, but Nick was deep in thought. He was trying to remember where he had heard that name. Connor Greyson... Connor Greyson... Where had he heard it? It sounded so familiar. Suddenly, he felt Judy shaking his shoulder roughly.

"Ah- What?" He whispered harshly

"There he is" Judy replied quietly, staring out of the window.

Nick looked out and sure enough, the masked zebra was sneaking to the toy store, completely oblivious to the cop car. They let him walk a few feet before silently nodding at each other and getting out of the car, teasers in hand. Judy got out her wallow talkie and silently talked into it.

"This is officer Hopps. Requesting backup at Pam's toy planes."

They silently followed behind him until he got to the door of the store. Then the action started.

"STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAW" Judy yelled, holding out her taser. "PUT YOUR HOOVES UP!"

The zebra swiftly turned around and put his hooves up, slowly backing away.

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" Nick shouted, holding out his taser too.

The zebra studied Nick for a moment before chuckling slightly.

"I don't freakin believe it. Nicholas Wilde."

Nick's eyes widened in surprise and a little bit of fear, but he wasn't about to show it. He put on his best angry face and continued to hold out the taser.

"Who are you? How did you know my my name?!"

The zebra took off his mask and Nick almost dropped his taser in shock. Conner Greyson... It all came flooding back. The zebra from the scouts troop. The one that helped with the muzzle...

"Y-you..." Nick stuttered out.

"Nick? What's wrong?" Judy asked, clearly concerned.

"I can't believe YOU of all people became a cop. After all. You're just a FOX."

Nick's ears drooped and he started to breathe heavier, but he stood his ground.

"You know what you need, little Nicky? A muzzle."

Connor pulled a muzzle out from behind him and launched himself at Nick.

Nick dropped his taser in shock and was knocked to the ground by the zebra. He could hear Judy yelling.

He thrashed around and started yell, but it was no use. The zebra attached the muzzle and the flashbacks came. The muzzle. The incident that caused him so much pain.

Nick couldn't breathe. He was stuck. He was getting dizzy and all around him there was yelling and shouting. He felt the weight of the zebra suddenly get lifted off of him, but he was so riled up and panicked, he couldn't breathe or see. He felt two small hands on his shoulders and a voice calling his name. He thrashed around trying to get away and screamed bloody murder.

"Nick!" The voice yelled

"No! Leave me alone! Leave me alone!" Nick screamed, tears streaming down his face as he thrashed around even more.

Everything started to spin and Nick was getting more dizzy. The last thing he remembered was multiple voices yelling before everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Nick slowly opened his eyes. He was momentarily panicked when he didn't recognize the place he was at and the bed he was in. He looked around at the sterile white room, the heart monitor and a few chairs for visitors and realized he was in a hospital unit. He heard light snoring and looked to his right. Judy had her head rested on the bed and was fast asleep. He thought of waking her, but decided against it. He couldn't remember why he was here or what happened, but then the memories of the previous night came back like a punch in the face. His breathing got heavier and he put his face in his paws. Tears were rolling down his face and he let out choked sobs. A few seconds later, Judy woke up from her sleep and looked up to see Nick sobbing.

"Nick... Oh my god..." Judy said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He flinched away, but relaxed visibly when he saw that it was Judy.

"I'm so sorry about what happened last night..."

Nick lowered his head and his ears drooped.

"I wasn't supposed to let them get to me..." Nick muttered. "But they're right... I'm nothing but a fox. A dumb worthless fox"

"Nick..." 

"I'm... Im not... I can't... I... I... I just"

The heart monitor started speeding up drastically and Nick was letting out short rapid breaths. More tears fell and he was sobbing loudly at this point.

Judy's heart was absolutely shattered. She had never seen Nick like this.

Judy placed a hand on his shoulder

"Nick. Nick listen to me."

He looked at her with a panicked expression. He was still breathing rapidly and his eyes were wide in terror.

"What's your name?" Judy asked

Nick was confused but replied.

"N-N-Nick Wi-Wilde"

"What's your favorite food?"

"Bl-Blueberries"

Nick was starting to calm down slightly, so Judy continued.

"What is your favorite drink?"

"L-lemonade"

"And what's your favorite color"

Nick was almost completely calmed down. Judy knew her idea was working.

"Green"

Nick took a deep breath and a few more tears rolled down his face.

"H-how did you know to do that?" He asked

Judy sighed.

"My sister, Jenny has panic attacks... I guess I picked it up from my parents saying it to her."

Just then, a panda, who they assumed was the doctor walked in.

"Hello Mr. Wilde. Mrs. Wilde."

Judy and Nick both shot their heads up.

Judy was blushing and Nick was really flustered "Oh... She's not... We're not..."

The Doctor nodded.

"I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. Miss..."

"Hopps" Judy said.

"Ah. Miss Hopps. May I please speak with you out in the hall?"

Judy looked at Nick with a worried expression.

"Um... Sure. Yeah. Nick? You gonna be okay alone?"

He looked at Judy for a second before nodding. Judy walked out into the hall with the doctor. Nick tried to listen to their conversation. He could hear muffled conversation, then 'What?!' From Judy. After more muffled talking, he heard her start to cry. He felt terrible. He couldn't help but think all of this was his fault. A few minutes later, the doctor and Judy walked in.

The doctor sat down next to Nick "Nicholas, you seem to have a severe case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I think for the time being, it would be a good idea to think about residency at Grassy His psychiatric hospital"

Nick snapped his head up and looked at the doctor in shock.

"G-grassy Hills?"

"Yes. It's one of the top ranked psychiatric units in Zootopia. I think staying there would help alleviate your stress and trauma."

"How would I work?"

"You wouldn't. You'll get an excused vacation. I strongly urge that you follow with this decision, Nicholas"

Nick looked at Judy, waiting for an opinion from her.

"Judy?"

Judy sighed, not looking at Nick "I... I think you should go... If it'll help you, you need to go."

Nick looked back at the doctor.

"How long would I stay?"

The doctor took off her glasses.

"I'm not exactly sure. Anywhere from a month to four months most likely."

Nick's eyes widened and he looked completely torn.

"I... I... I don't... Know."

"I understand, Nicholas. I'll let you two talk it over."

She left the room and the two partners looked at each other.

"Judy... I don't know if I can do that." Nick admitted, rubbing his head.

"If it will help you, I think you should... Bogo will understand." Judy replied, taking his paw in hers.

"Judy... Will you come visit me?" Nick asked quietly.

Judy tightened her grip on his paw "Y-yes of course I will"

"Every day?"

"Every day..."

Nick and Judy looked into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity before Nick nodded his head.

"Okay... I'll... I'll go."


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter may be triggering for some. If you are triggered easily, don't read please**

"Nick? Do you have everything packed?" Judy asked gently.

Nick looked around his room that had a now empty closet and a now empty dresser. He nodded.

"Y-yeah... I think so."

Judy nodded and sighed "Alright... Well... Let's go..."

They grabbed Nick's things and walked outside to Judy's car. It was about 11 at night, so the streets weren't very busy, making the trip easier for both of them. Nick took a breath of air. This would probably be the last breath of fresh outside air he'd have for a while.

The car ride was silent. They couldn't seem to make conversation in this situation. Then Judy spoke up.

"Nick..."

Nick looked away from the window and at his best friend who was driving.

"Yeah?"

Judy sniffled, trying not to cry.

"You... You know I love you, right? And so does Clawhouser, and Bogo, even though he'd never admit it... And Finnick loves you... You're not worthless... To me, you mean everything."

He looked back out the window.

"I... I'm just having a hard time believing it, Judy..."

Judy let a few tears fall for her broken friend. The rest of the car ride was quiet. After about 20 minutes, they pulled up to Grassy Hills. They walked into the environment expecting it to look exactly like a hospital, but it was slightly different. Right when they walked in, they were caught off guard by the colors. Bright green painted hills and a big painted sun were spread across the walls like a big beautiful painting. There was a receptionists desk to the right of them. They walked up to it and were greeted by a friendly pig.

"Hello!" She said smiling. "What can I do for you?" Judy looked at her name tag. Her name was Lacie

They were both silent. Nick was really tempted to say 'Yes, I'd like to rent a hotel suite' but he stayed silent. Judy was the one to speak up.

"Umm... My... My friend, Nick... We were referred here by Doctor Jones for Nick."

Lacie nodded "Alright. I'll need you to fill out some paperwork and I'll call for a therapist for an assessment."

She reached under her desk and pulled out a mountain of paperwork. Nick and Judy mentally cursed, but silently took the paperwork and sat on a couch to the side.

"Alright, Nick. Fill this out first" Judy said, handing him a piece of paper. It had about 15 questions, and he answered them by writing a number from 1 to 5. 1 being never and 5 being always.

Nick looked at the first question.

'Are you unhappy?'

He thought for a minute before putting a 4.

The second question was 'do you feel worthless or hopeless?'

Nick rolled his eyes bitterly and put a 5.

Judy watched as he marked all of the questions, completely shocked by his answers. She never new he thought of suicide. She never knew he felt worthless. She never knew how depressed and sad he truly was. A few minutes later, he was done and Judy handed him the rest of the paperwork. After about and hour he was done with all of it.

Just then, a therapist who was an elephant walked out of a door to the right of them.

"Hello Nick. And..."

"Judy" Judy said

"Ah yes. Hello Nick and Judy. Please, come into my office."

They followed him back into the room he came out of. Nick expected it to be some dim room with walks plastered with diplomas, so he was surprised when he walked into a bright room with painting of things ranging from flowers to abstract art hanging everywhere.

"Have a seat" the therapist said kindly.

The two sat down on a comfy brown couch in front of the therapist's desk. The nameplate on the therapist's desk said Dr. Small. Nick silently scoffed. How ironic. Dr. Small sat down and started typing a few things on his computer before facing Nick and Judy.

"So... Why are we here?"

Nick and Judy looked at each other. They didn't know where to start. Nick decided to speak up.

"Well, uh... The doctor said... I have severe PTSD and thought... I should come here."

Dr. Small nodded. "Tell me a little about that."

Nick proceeded to tell Dr. Small about the incident that happened as a child, then the incident that happened a few nights ago.

"And I just... I feel like I'm nothing... That they're right about me... That I'm just a worthless fox.."

Nick let a few tears roll down his cheeks, but quickly wiped them away.

Judy put a hand on his shoulder supportively and tried not to cry as well.

Dr. Small typed for a few minutes before looking at Judy.

"How long have you known about all of this?" He asked.

Judy faced him "I... I knew about what happened to him as a kid, and I knew it affected him, but I didn't realize it hurt him this much..."

The therapist continued to type.

"Alright... Nick, what makes you think you're so worthless?"

Nick looked at the therapist almost angrily.

"What makes me so worthless? This should be fun to list" Nick started "For one thing, I'm a fox, which is enough on its own. I was a con artist for 10 years, I hurt basically everyone I meet, everyone laughs at me for being a police officer because, again, I'M A FOX. Oh, and another thing. I made Judy cry. At the hospital, she cried over ME. I can't imagine why because I'm utter garbage. Oh and-"

Just angrily cut him off "NICK! You are NOT garbage. You wanna know why I cried? Because I love and care about you so much that seeing you in a condition like this breaks my heart! And-"

Dr. Small held up his trunk. "Miss. Judy, let him finish"

Nick shook his head "that was pretty much it, sir..."

Dr. Small nodded. "Well, Nicholas, you definitely meet the criteria for residency here from what I'm looking at on your papers, and what you've told me. Now, I need to ask you. Do YOU think you need to be here? Don't think about anyone else's opinion. tell me what YOU think."

Nick thought for a moment. No one had really asked him what he thought.

"I mean... It's not really my ideal treatment, but if it'll help me, and if you think it's best, then I'll stay."

Dr. Small typed a few more things on his computer.

"Alright, Nicholas. You made a good choice."

He pressed a button on his reception machine and spoke into it.

"Nurse, can you please get a bed ready for Mr. Wilde?"

He looked back at Nick and Judy.

"Do you have any bags with you?"

Judy nodded "yes. They're in our car."

"Would you mind getting them for Nick? I'd like to speak with him alone for a few minutes."

Judy nodded again. "Yes, of course."

She hopped up from the sofa and walked out of the room, shutting the door.

Dr. Small leaned on his desk, making it creak slightly and sighed.

"Nick, I must say, your friend cares about you very much."

Nick lowered his head and his ears drooped. "I... I don't know, sir"

"Do you have any family? We usually have family sessions during a stay here."

Nick shook his head "My mom died when I was 11 and my dad walked out when I was born. My grandparents hate me as well as the rest of my distant family..."

Dr. Small thought for a moment.

"Would you be willing to have Judy come in for a family session, along with some of your other friends?"

Nick sighed "I don't know... I guess so, if they'll come."

"I will talk to Judy about it later, when you're settled in your room. You'll have a roommate, so you won't have to worry about being all alone."

"Wh-Who's my roommate?"

"I'm not sure. I don't go to the patient floors much. Most of my work is down here."

They were silent for a few minutes.

Just then, a cat in a nurse's uniform walked in.

"Dr. Small? Nick's room is ready."

"Ah, yes. Thank you Nurse Stacey. He will be joining you shortly to the..."

Dr. Small looked at Nick's paperwork.

"The age 18-24 floor, since he's 22."

"So... Floor 4?"

"Yes."

Stacey nodded and walked out.

"Well, Nick, are you ready?"

"Can I say bye to Judy?"

"Of course"

They got up and walked out of the room. Judy was sitting on a couch with all of Nick's bags. She saw them come out and her ears perked up. Nick walked up to Judy and sighed.

"Well... I guess this is it for our police partnership for now" He mumbled, looking away.

She said nothing, but hopped up on the couch so she was almost as talk as him and gave him a hug.

"Maybe... But it's not the end of our friendship..."

He wrapped his arms around her and they hugged for about 5 minutes before Judy broke away.

"I'll... I'll be here to visit you as soon as I can."

"And I'll be waiting" Nick replied, smiling sadly.

"Come on, Nick. Let's go..." Stacey said.

"Well, goodbye, Judy. See you soon"

"Bye, Nick... I love you..."

"I... Love you too"

Nick grabbed his bags and walked with her, stepping into the elevator. He waved to Judy as the door closed, separating the two.

The elevator ride was silent, except for the soft music that played. When they got to the 4th floor, Stacey led him out into the 18-24 ward. It had white tiled floors with a commons area that had tables, couches, a tv and some cabinets that most likely had board games in them. She led Nick down the hall and to the dorms. A hippo was sitting at a desk. Nick guessed he was there to monitor everyone. He looked up from his magazine for a few seconds, acknowledged Nick, and looked back down. Stacey walked to the last door on the right and opened it quietly.

"this is where you'll be staying. You can put your clothes away in the morning, but if you want to change into some pajamas, the bathroom you guys share is right over there" she pointed to a closed door near the back of the room. Your roommate is asleep, so be quiet, okay?"

Nick nodded "Yes ma'am... Thank you..."

She put a paw on his shoulder.

"Get some sleep, okay?"

She walked out and left Nick alone. He was too tired to change, so he just slowly got into his bed and covered himself with the blankets, closing his eyes. He could hear quiet snores coming from his roommate, who was obviously in a deep sleep.

After about an hour, Nick finally fell asleep, hoping all of this was just a bad dream.


	4. Chapter 4

Nick woke up covered by what he thought was his blanket at home. He tiredly opened his eyes, thankful that all of this was just a dream and sat up, only to be very disappointed. He was greeted by a dull blue room with a bed on each side of it. He heard rustling to his right so he looked over to see who he assumed was his roommate (who was a white wolf) rummaging around in their side of the closet. They turned around and saw Nick looking at them.

"Hi..." They said gently.

"Hi..." Nick replied quietly.

They sat in awkward silence for a while before the roommate spoke up.

"My name's Jason... What's yours?"

"Nick..."

Jason nodded.

"Okay, Nick. I'll show you around here since its your first day. Just curious, Have you been tested for drugs in the past year?"

Nick nodded "Yes. I had to so I could join the ZPD."

"Okay, then you don't have to take a drug test... Follow me. I'll take you to breakfast."

Nick got out of bed and followed Jason out of the room. He couldn't help but notice how comforting Jason seemed to be. He seemed really shy and soft spoken, and he acted nervous, like he wasn't comfortable in his own skin. They walked down the short hall to the common area and breakfast was served. Hash browns and pancakes. Nick smiled slightly when he noticed they were blueberry. Jason led him to a four person table and they sat across from each other. Nick took one look at the meal and immediately dug in, practically inhaling the food. After all that had happened in the past few days, he barely had time to eat.

"Hungry?" Jason chuckled.

Nick looked up from his plate and nodded with a mouth full of hash browns. Just as he finished the meal, a small brown bear and a deer came and sat with the two.

Jason smiled at them.

"Hey guys. This is Nick. He got here last night."

They shyly waved at him.

"Nick, this is Sammy" Jason said, pointing to the bear.

"And this is Cassandra, but we call her Cas." He pointed to the deer.

Nick waved awkwardly and looked down at the table nervously.

A few minutes later after everyone finished eating, a nurse walked in and called everyone to join group time. There were 11 patients in all.

"Alright guys, you know the drill when we get a new patient" Stacey said, sitting down in a chair. "Tell us your name, age, and if you want to share, why you're here. We'll start with Lexi."

A small bunny who reminded Nick of Judy quietly spoke up. "Um... Hi. I'm Lexi, I'm 19 years old, and I'm here because I have an eating disorder..."

"Thank you for sharing, Lexi. Alright, Mason?"

"Mason. 20. Anger issues" A tiger growled.

Nick couldn't help but like how mason was straight to the point.

Sammy went next. His story made Nick really sad.

"I'm Sammy, I'm 18, and I'm here because... I... Tried to jump off of a building..."

Then Cas went.

"I'm Cas, I'm 21, and I'm here because I self harm..."

Then Jason went. His story is what surprised Nick the most.

"I'm Jason, I'm 21, and I'm here because I tried to kill myself on account that my father wouldn't accept me for being transgender. The people here were nice enough to let me stay in the room of my correct gender even though 'biologically' I belong in the girl's rooms."

"Thank you for sharing, Jason. You'll always be accepted here. Ellie?"

Stacey turned to a little raccoon who looked incredibly nervous.

The small raccoon didn't say a word. She just shivered a little, pushed her big square glasses up on her face, and avoided eye contact.

Stacey sighed "okay, Ellie. You don't have to share...Nick? Would you mind sharing with us?"

Nick nervously looked around the room. All eyes were on him.

"I'm... I'm Nick, I'm 22, and I'm here because... I... I'm..." He slowly faltered, lowering his head.

"It's okay Nick. You don't have to share"

The rest of the group was pretty uneventful. After everyone else went, group was dismissed and it was free time.

Nick sat back at the table with his three new friends from breakfast. They all sat in silence for a few minutes before Sammy spoke up.

"So, Nick..." He started "tell us about yourself..."

Nick gulped "O-Okay. I uh... I like blueberries. They're my favorite food, um... I work for the ZPD, my best friend is named Judy and she's amazing, I... Uh..."

Cassandra smirked

"Is she your girlfriend?"

Nick started blushing like mad and his eyes widened. "N-No! She's... She's just my friend... Besides... She's way too good for me... I'm just a fox..."

The table got silent.

"What do you mean by that?" Jason asked.

"Exactly what I said. Foxes are considered bad and awful and they are seen as things that need to be muzzled... Judy would never want me..."

Sammy scoffed "Nick, just because there's a stereotype, doesn't mean that's who you are... Look at me, bears are supposed to be big strong animals, but I stopped growing at the age of ten and I can't even lift a glass of juice without breaking a sweat. You aren't a label. You are you."

Nick sighed "I guess so..."

For the next few hours, the 4 engaged in small talk, but mostly did their own thing, whether it was reading a book, or drawing, or just staring into space. Nick started to notice the little raccoon named Ellie. She was the only one who sat alone and she seemed okay with it.

"Hey, what's Ellie's reason for being here?" Nick asked.

The three looked up at him.

"No one really knows except for a couple of the nurses. She won't talk to anyone. From what I've heard, she's been mute for a long time. I'm talking years. Something pretty terrible must have happened to make her go completely silent..." Jason replied, looking at Ellie from across the room.

"She's been here longer than any of us..." Cassandra added "And I've been here for four months..."

Nick nodded thoughtfully. He decided when lunch was served, he would go sit with her and talk to her, even if she didn't answer back. Something about her reminded him of himself and he felt like he needed to talk to her.

An hour later, lunch was served. Grilled cheese and tomato soup. Nick thanked the cook for his food and walked towards Ellie. He pulled out a chair and sat across from her.

"Is this seat taken?" He asked.

She looked up nervously and stared

at him for a moment before shaking her head.

"I'm Nick. You're Ellie, right?"

Ellie nodded and looked down at her food, picking at her sandwich.

Nick couldn't help but think about how Ellie reminded him of a small scared child, even though she was probably about 18. She seemed very uncomfortable, but he stayed with her in hopes of maybe getting her to talk. He suddenly noticed that she was wearing a Minecraft t-shirt.

"You like Minecraft?" He asked.

She nodded and looked down at her t-shirt.

"Yeah, I play it sometimes too. My favorite mob is the zombie pig man. He acts all nice then BAM. You're dead. Can I guess your favorite?"

She nodded and looked at him, waiting for an answer.

"Hmm... Is it... A creeper?" Nick asked

She shook her head no.

"Darn. Okay, is it a... Zombie?"

She shook her hand again, smiling a little.

"Hmm... Okay this has to be it. An enderman?"

She smiled a little more and shook her head again.

"Damn it. Is it... Hmm... A SLIME?"

She nodded and smiled at him once more.

"Slimes are pretty cool, but they multiply like crazy when you try to kill them. They're pretty cute though. Right?"

She didn't reply, which he expected. He looked over at his table with his new friends to see that they were watching him and Ellie in fascination.

He continued to talk to her about different things ranging from video games to art and drawing. He didn't know why he felt better around her, or why he was so comfortable talking to her, but something about her just made him think of himself and what he's been through. He didn't feel so alone anymore. He tried to keep the one sided conversation light hearted and happy, but deep down he wanted nothing more than to just go to sleep forever.

"So... Um... If you don't mind my asking, how long have you been here?"

Ellie looked at him for a moment and he started to regret his question, but then she held up 6 fingers.

"Six months?"

She nodded.

"That's a long time... I'm really sorry about whatever happened to you. You didn't deserve it...I know you didn't..."

Ellie let out a deep exhale before nodding again. Just then, the hippo nurse from earlier walked into the commons

"Alright guys" he said tiredly "room time"

"Well, Ellie... Can I sit with you at dinner?"

Ellie smiled and nodded. They went their separate ways into their rooms. Nick sat down on his bed and yawned. He was really tired, but for some reason, he didn't feel like sleeping. Jason walked in later and sat on his own bed, pulling out a book and opening it.

"Hey, Jason?" Nick asked

"Hmm?"

"When did you... Realize you were trans?"

Jason closed his book and set it down.

"I'm not exactly sure, man. I think I always kinda knew. I mean, I hated dresses, bows, dolls, you know, feminine stuff. Then I realized I would have rather been called sir. And Jason instead of Jessica, you know?"

"Yeah, that makes sense..."

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"You know Nick, I've never seen anything like I saw today when you sat with Ellie. She was really enjoying your company. I'd never seen her so happy."

"Really? She didn't really seem that happy..."

"Nah, bro. I saw the big smile on her face. She was thrilled."

Nick nodded "yeah... Maybe. So, what are you gonna do when you leave this place?"

"Well, I'm going to propose to my girlfriend. We've been dating for three years. I love her more than anything. I'm gonna enroll in Zootopia University and major in social working I think... How about you. I know you've been here less than 24 hours, but any plans?"

Nick thought for a moment

"Well, I'll go back to work at the ZPD. After that, I'm not sure..."

"Oh come on! What about that Judy girl you mentioned earlier? You gonna ask her out?"

Nick sighed "I don't know... To tell the truth, she's such an amazing bunny. She's smart, talented, really beautiful, and she's the cutest thing I've ever seen... She wouldn't want a fox like me... To be honest, I don't know why she even became my friend. Plus, interspecies relationships are pretty frowned upon sometimes..."

"Nick, my girlfriend is a leopard. Everyone accepts is, and I'm sure everyone will accept you guys too."

Nick nodded "Maybe..."

Stacey walked in and looked at Nick.

"I'm very sorry to interrupt your room time, Nicholas. But you have a visitor."

Nick's ears perked up a little "is it Judy?"

Stacey nodded. "Yes, now come on."

Nick hopped off of his bed and started to walk out, but not before saying bye to Jason. Stacey took him down to the first floor and led him into a conference room where Judy sat. Nick and Judy made eye contact and immediately ran to each other and just hugged for almost 10 minutes. When they finally let go and sat down, Stacey closed the door and left them alone. Then they started to talk.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, Nick. How are you?" Judy asked gently.

Nick sighed "A little better... Not much... But a little"

"That's good..."

There was an unsettling silence in the room until Nick spoke up.

"So, is Bogo gonna fire me?"

Judy looked at him, shocked by what he said. "No! In fact, he feels terrible about this whole thing. You probably won't believe me, but he cried, Nick."

Nick's eyes widened. "He what?!"

"I mean, he wasn't full on sobbing, but when I told him where you were after he asked why you didn't check in, he said nothing. He just walked into his office and slammed the door. I walked into his office later and he was rubbing his temples and a few tears were going down his face. He tried to act all cool when I walked in, but he couldn't. He told me he feels terrible for making you go on that case, Nick. He wants to visit, but he can't bring himself to because he feels so bad..."

Nick was in absolute shock. Chief Bogo, who he thought hated his guts, cried over him?

"I'm... I'm an awful person..." Nick mumbled, putting his head in his paws.

" How the hell are you an awful person?!" Judy asked angrily.

"if I can make Bogo cry, i must be pretty bad..."

"Nick! Chief Bogo cares about you. He may not act like it, but he does. He cried because he feels like it's his fault and he cried because he cares."

Nick stayed silent for a few minutes.

"What did clawhouser say?"

Judy sat back in her chair and let out a big exhale "He threw a FIT. He exploded. He was so angry and vowed if he ever saw that zebra in person, he'd kill him."

Nick remembered Connor "Wait... Did Connor get away?"

"No, we got him. Right when he... You know... Did that thing, back up arrived and arrested him. He's facing 15 years in prison for assault and robbery of more than 5 different stores."

Nick sighed in relief. "At least you got him..."

They were silent for a few more minutes.

"Finnick is gonna come see you tomorrow. He's really upset about what happened..."

"Why are people even getting upset?" Nick asked quietly "I'm just a-"

"Nick, STOP. They're upset because they CARE about you." Judy said, cutting him off.

Nick didn't reply. He just stared at the ground.

Judy checked her phone. "I have to go. My shift starts in 30 minutes. I'll be here tomorrow for the family session, okay?"

Nick looked at her confused until he remembered that Dr. Small said he would organize a family session.

"Alright... I'll see you then, Judy."

She felt like she was about to cry right there. Nick wouldn't even call her carrots anymore. She acted like she hated that name, but she secretly loved it. They said their goodbyes and Nick was taken back up to his room. There was still an hour of room time. When he sat down on his bed, Jason looked at him and smiled.

"How was visitation?"

Nick shrugged "it was okay I guess... Apparently some people really care about me."

Jason closed his book again. "Nick, you may not realize it, but people care. I thought no one accepted me, and I thought no one cared after my dad did what he did to me, but then I met my girlfriend, Annie. She has given me more love than I can imagine. She's helping me pay for treatment to take hormones and she loves me as much as I love her. Although it may not seem like it, you're cared about."

Nick shrugged again. "I can't argue with that speech... Thanks, Jason."

Jason smiled "No problem, bro. Hey, not meaning to, you know, invade your privacy or anything, but you might wanna unpack and put away your clothes. You'll get in trouble if you don't."

Nick nodded. "Okay. Yeah I'll unpack."

He spent the rest of room time unpacking. When room time was finished, it was time for the lesson of the day. Everyone sat down at the tables and couches. Nick sat with Ellie again at a little table in the corner of the room. She walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a coloring sheet with a picture of a princess and some crayons. She returned and started to color. Nick felt a pang of sadness for the little raccoon. She was so innocent and pure, yet it seems like she's been through Hell and back. He wondered what her voice sounded like. He guessed it was probably more high pitched and squeaky based on her small appearance.

A few minutes later, A jaguar with multiple piercings and a stern look on her face walked in. She wasn't wearing the usual nurse outfit. She wore a black tight shirt with black ripped jeans and black combat boots.

"Alright guys, today's lesson" she said, walking over to a white board at the front of the room and writing on it "is using your words." She glanced over at Ellie when she said that.

Nick looked at Ellie and she sank lower in her seat and kept her head down. He looked back at the jaguar in annoyance.

"Using your words is FUNDAMENTAL if you wanna survive in the real world. You can't just stay silent and lock yourself away in your own little world if you wanna succeed. Ellie? Could you elaborate on this?" The bitch of a teacher made all eyes go on little Ellie.

She whimpered a little and looked away.

"Ellie. Answer me." The Jaguar said sternly.

Ellie stayed silent and looked really scared.

"Ellie!"

Nick stood up "She doesn't want to. Don't force her." He growled.

The jaguar paused and everyone looked at Nick

"Damn mental patients..." She grumbled angrily.

She continued with the lesson, giving Nick and Ellie dirty looks the whole time. After the lesson, dinner was served. Potato soup and a bowl of fruit. Nick and Ellie got their food, sitting down and eating. Nick noticed Ellie picked all of the blackberries out of her fruit bowl and ate them first.

"You like blackberries huh?"

She just sighed sadly and continued to eat.

"Hey, don't let that mean old teacher get to you. If you ask me," he leaned in closer so no one would hear "she looks like she rolled around in coal dust and stuck a whole bunch of pin needles in her face."

Ellie put a paw over her mouth and stifled a giggle. Nick smiled. He was glad she was feeling a bit better.

They continued to eat their food in silence until Nick asked her a question he had been wondering for a while.

"So... Do you know when you leave?"

She shook her head as if to say no. Nick felt bad for thinking this way, but he was a little relieved. He wanted to be friends with Ellie, and it wouldn't help if she left the next day.

After dinner, it was free time again.

"Hey, Ellie? What's your family like?"

She stopped and thought for a minute before turning over her coloring sheet to the blank side. She started to draw a picture while Nick watched. When she finished she handed it to him. He looked at it for a little while before he smiled. There were two raccoons that had the labels "mom and dad" over them. There were also three smaller ones. The littlest one was labeled "little sister". She looked about two. The middle one said "Me" and the one that looked oldest said "big brother"

Nick gave the paper back to her "It looks like you have a pretty nice family"

She nodded and folded the paper up, putting it in her pocket.

Nick talked to Ellie for a while longer while she listened to him. He wished she would talk back, but knew she couldn't. An hour later, nurse Stacey walked to the front of the room to the TV. She turned it on and held out three DVDs to the people in the room.

"Guys, we have Moolan, Wreck it Rhino, and Pig hero 6. Which one do you wanna watch?"

Pig hero 6 got the majority vote. Everyone sat on the couches around the tv as the movie started. About thirty minutes into the movie, Nick felt a weight on his side. He looked over to see Ellie leaning against him, fast asleep. He smiled a little and continued to watch the movie. He couldn't help but see her as a little sister that he never had. When the movie finished, it was almost time to go to bed. Everyone got changed into their pajamas, brushed their teeth, all that stuff you do before you go to bed. When he was finally in bed, Nick couldn't help but think about how much better this day turned out than he expected as he slowly fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Day 2

"Nick... Nick wake up..."

Nick groaned and slowly opened his eyes to see a golden retriever looking down at him.

"It's time for breakfast." She said.

He yawned and sat up, stretching his arms behind his back. He noticed that Jason had already gotten up and left the room. He got out of his bed and left his room, walking down the hall to breakfast. He walked up to the serving table and got today's breakfast, a veggie omelette, and sat down at his and Ellie's table tiredly. A few minutes later, Ellie showed up and sat down as well.

"Hey, Ellie. Did you sleep well?" He asked.

She hesitated for a moment before nodding.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before a nurse who was a camel walked into view. Nick decided to lighten the mood.

"Hey, Ellie. What do you call a three humped camel?... Pregnant!"

Ellie snorted and covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

He smiled and continued to eat. He was really happy that Ellie was coming out of her shell and hoped she would continue to do so. About 10 minutes later, the camel called everyone to sit in a circle for group.

"Alright guys, this morning we're going to talk about self esteem."

Nick internally groaned. As much as he needed to hear this lesson, he kind of wanted to skip it.

"We're going to go around the circle and each of us are going to name three things we like about ourselves. We'll start with Mason. Mason?" She looked at Mason.

He let out a heavy sight "my brain, my muscles, my voice"

"Thank you. Alright, next?"

A small squirrel hesitated before giving her answer.

"I... I like my eyes, and my nose, and I guess I like my tail..."

The routine continued until it got to Ellie. She stayed silent and the nurse nodded knowingly.

"It's okay, Ellie. Nick?"

Nick lowered his ears and looked around nervously.

"I uh... Um... I..."

Just then, another nurse who was a lion walked in.

"Nick? Your family is waiting downstairs for your session." She said, motioning for him to follow.

'Thank God' Nick thought to himself.

He waved bye to Ellie and walked with the nurse to the elevator. As it closed she turned to Nick.

"You've got quite a family." She said, chuckling lightly.

Nick shrugged "well... I mean... They aren't really my family..."

"Maybe not by blood, but they sure do care about you enough to be."

Nick looked at her "what do you mean?"

Just then, the elevator dinged and opened. She led Nick out and to a conference room. When she opened the door, Nick thought he was going to cry. Judy, Benjamin, Finnick and Bogo were all sitting around a table with Dr. Small. When they noticed he had come in, they all smiled sadly and waved. He sat down at a free seat and avoided eye contact.

"Hello, Nick." Dr. Small said "are you doing any better?"

Nick shrugged and continued to avoid eye contact.

"Well, let's get started... Nick, do you think you're worthless?"

...

SORRY FOR SUCH A SHORT CHAPTER GUYS! IVE BEEN SO SO SO BUSY WITH SCHOOL, AND I WANTED THE FAMILY SESSION TO BE VERY IN DEPTH AND STUFF SO IM GONNA GET IT DONE THIS WEEKEND WHEN I HAVE TIME. I LOVE YOU ALL!


	7. Chapter 7

"Do you think you're worthless?"

The question caught Nick a bit off guard, but he simply nodded and kept his head down. It was so silent in the room that you could hear a pin drop.

"What do you all think?" Dr. Small asked, facing the rest of the group.

"Well, I've been working with Nick for years now and I never knew he even felt this way..." Finnick replied quietly. "If I knew... I would have been a little nicer. I wouldn't have made as many mean jokes... Nick, you know I never meant any of that stuff I had said to you. Like to go die under a rock. I was just joking. That's how I talk to my friends and that's my sense of humor... You know I care about you, right?"

Nick stayed quiet.

"We miss you at the ZPD. It's kinda quiet without you. I miss all of your one liners and sassy comments..." Benjamin added.

Judy put a paw on Nick's shoulder. "Nick, you know we all love you... Right? Don't we guys?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Nick sighed and looked up at them.

"I just have a hard time believing it..."

Dr. Small pushed his glasses up.

"Why?"

"Because... I'm a fox. No one likes or trusts foxes. Hell, the first thing Bogo said when he saw me was 'Do you think I would trust a fox?'"

Chief Bogo looked down guiltily and took a deep breath.

"Nick... That was before I knew you. You're a good guy... I was wrong. I'm sorry."

Everyone looked at Bogo in shock. He never admits that he's wrong, and he's certainly never apologized.

The rest of the session went pretty smoothly until Dr. Small brought up a dreaded question.

"Are you suicidal?"

Nick didn't really want to answer that, so he just looked at the table and avoided eye contact. Dr. Small took that as a yes.

"How would you all feel if one day Nick wasn't here anymore?"

Judy took a shaky breath.

"I... I don't know... I wouldn't be able to do anything... I wouldn't be able to function without my partner." A tear rolled down her face. "Nick, you're my best friend... I love you so much and I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose you. I..." She trailed off as more tears came. She sobbed quietly with her head in her hands.

Benjamin took a deep breath. "Nick, we don't have a close friendship, but if you died, I'd be crushed. You're the best fox I know and the ZPD needs someone like you."

Finnick shook his head and looked at Nick.

"You're my best friend... We're like brothers. If you... If you died... Shit, man. I don't know what I would do. You mean a lot to me, even if I don't show it. Remember when we were kids and we always used to pretend we were secret agents? I think about that a lot, because it was when we first became best friends. You mean the world to me. I wouldn't be able to handle it if you died." A few tears escaped his eyes and he looked away.

The room was silent besides Judy's sobs until Bogo spoke up.

"The ZPD needs animals like you. The world needs animals like you... If you... Were gone, what would any of us do?" He avoided looking at anyone, but Nick swore he saw a tear go down his face.

Dr. Small looked at Nick.

"Do you still think they don't care?"

Nick had to admit, he was shocked by how much they cared about him.

"No... I don't"

Dr. Small smiled.

"It looks like we're getting somewhere. Unfortunately the time for this session is up. I recommend another session in three weeks. I'll give you all some time to talk alone if you'd like."

They all nodded and Dr. Small left the room.

"Can I talk to Nick alone?" Benjamin asked.

"Yeah... Yeah come on guys..." Judy said, leading everyone else out.

"I want to talk to him next" Finnick replied as he left the room.

The door closed and the room was awkwardly silent.

"I have something for you" Benjamin said, reaching under his seat and pulling out a paper bag. "We aren't really supposed to bring food to you, but I thought you'd need it."

Nick took the bag and opened it. He pulled out a donut with blue icing.

"It's blueberry flavored" Ben said, smiling.

Nick felt like he hadn't had blueberries in a million years and hungrily ate it in two bites. He smiled a little, which made Benjamin smile.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Nick. I'll let Finnick come see you now.. I'll see you later." Ben patted his shoulder and left the room. A second later, tiny Finnick walked in. He sat across from Nick and exhaled.

"So... Do you know when you leave?"

Nick shook his head.

"No..." 

"Okay... Well, I'm gonna come visit you whenever I can. I'll call you too."

"Okay..."

They were silent for a couple of minutes until Finnick spoke.

"You know I love you right? I mean, not in a gay way or anything, but like a brother loves his brother."

Nick nodded. "I love you too..."

"Well, I better go... Judy is in hysterics and I don't think she can see you right now... Bogo might come see you tomorrow, he just can't bring himself to talk to you today... I'll see you soon."

Finnick hopped up on a chair next to Nick and gave him a hug.

"Take care, Nick..."

They all left and Nick was taken back up to the fourth floor. It was free time and he saw Ellie sitting at their table with her head down . He walked over and was about to ask her if everything was okay, but he heard light snoring and realized she was asleep. He decided to go sit with his other group of friends and leave her alone. He sat with them and they all smiled at him.

"Hey, man! How'd the family session go?" Jason asked.

Nick smiled a little.

"It went... Good"


	8. Chapter 8

**AYEEEE. Let's get** a **few things out of the way before the chapter. One, this chapter is short. I've had some family problems, so I haven't had much time to write. Two, my friend asked me if I was going to have Nick and Ellie become a couple. I'm just gonna sink that ship right now. No, I'm very sorry. I see them as very close friends with no romance involved. I'm sorry if I sank a ship. This story isn't going to revolve around romance I'm afraid. It's about more and I'd like to have a story without a pairing. Sorry I'm kinda spoiling the story, but I don't want anyone's hopes up about a pairing. Okay. Story time!**

Nick spent a good portion of free time talking to Sammy, Cas, and Jason. Every once in a while, he would look over at Ellie to see if she had woken up yet. It had been about two hours, and he was starting to get worried about her.

Nick stood up.

"Hey, guys? I'm gonna go check on Ellie. I feel like something's wrong..."

Sammy nodded. "Yeah... It's not normal for her to sleep for that long. She's usually coloring or something."

Nick approached her and sat across from her.

"Ellie?" He said softly.

"Ellie? You okay?" He reached his paw out and gently touched her arm. She was burning up. His eyes widened and he listened to her breath. It was short and raspy. Very panicked, he looked until he spotted Nurse Stacey.

"Nurse Stacey!" He said loud enough for her to hear.

She turned around and he was waving her over quickly.

She ran over and Nick could tell she knew something was wrong.

"She's... She's burning up... And it sounds like she can't breathe very well..." Nick said, clearly shaken and scared.

Stacey nodded "Okay, it'll be alright. Ellie? Ellie, I need you to wake up"

Ellie's eyes fluttered open and she tiredly looked up at Nick.

"Can you walk?" Stacey asked, putting a paw on her shoulder.

She slowly got up from her seat, but then collapsed on the ground.

Nick rushed over to her side "Oh my god! Ellie are you okay?!"

She looked at him and sniffled a few times. A few tears ran down her face.

"No no no don't cry. You'll be okay. You're gonna be fine." Nick said gently but scared.

"I'm going to have to take her to the care floor. She looks like she might have the flu or possibly some other virus. Come on, Ellie." Stacey picked her up and called for another nurse to retrieve a gurney.

They placed Ellie on the rolling bed and headed towards the elevator. Nick could only watch, heartbroken as Ellie weakly reached her arm out to him when they entered the elevator. He looked to his side and noticed that Sammy, Jason, and Cas saw the whole thing, as well as everyone else in the room. He quietly sat down at his and Ellie's table and kept his head down. The rest of the day was kind of hazy. He got his lunch, but he didn't eat it. He couldn't. Room time came and he just laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Jason knew he probably didn't want to talk, so he left him alone. When dinner came, Nick just picked at it until Stacey approached him. He sat up and looked at her worriedly.

"Is... Is she-"

"She's going to be fine, Nick. She has a case of the flu, but she should be back to normal in a few days. I can tell you're really worried, but relax. She'll be fine."

Nick sighed in relief and nodded. Stacey walked away and he looked at the empty seat across from him. This was going to be a horrible few days.


	9. Chapter 9

**Day 3**

 **Hey, guys! I'm sorry for updating so late. I've been super duper busy. I went camping, plus finals have kicked me in the ass. Anyways, here's your story! I'm watching Hey Arnold while I write, so expect some references. BTW YES I KNOW NICK IS ACTUALLY IN HIS EARLY THIRTIES IN THE MOVIE. MAYBE THIS IS MY OWN WORK WITH MY OWN ADAPTIONS AND CHARACTER AGES.**

 _Nick sat behind a wall, sobbing his eyes out. He had just managed to pull off the muzzle that those cruel prey had attached to him. They went looking for him to tease him more, but he stayed hidden well enough so they couldn't find him. He buried his face in his paws and continued to sob until he heard a pair of pawsteps approach him. He snapped his head up to see a shadowed figure about his height and started to scoot away quickly._

 _"N-No! Not another muzzle. PLEASE!" He cried._

 _The figure walked closer and he realized this animal wasn't even from the troop. He was a small fox who had huge ears._

 _"Hey, calm down. what's the matter with you?" The small fox said in a squeaky, high pitched voice._

 _"I- I..." Nick started to speak, but trailed off and looked down at the muzzle._

 _"Oh... I think I know... That's happened to me too." The stranger said, sitting down next to Nick."I'm Finnick. What's your name?"_

 _Nick hesitated. Was he really going to tell this stranger his name? "Nick... Nick Wilde..._

 _Finnick nodded. "Our names have something in common. They're frikkin awesome." He pulled a candy bar out of his pocket. "Chocolate?"_

 _Nick nodded and took the candy, digging into it. It was a Hershey's bar with almonds. His favorite._

 _"I have about 20 more, so if you want any more, you can have some."_

 _Nick paused, mid bite into his candy. "Wh- how did you afford all that?"_

 _Finnick shrugged. "Stole it"_

 _Nick gasped in shock. "You... you STOLE? Isn't that wrong?"_

 _"I'm a fox... It's what we do." Finnick replied._

 _"It... it is?"_

 _"Yeah. As long as the other animals see us as shify thieves, that's what we should be..."_

 _Nick thought for a moment. "Maybe you're right."_

 _Finnick smirked. "Stick with me, Nick. You'll be fine..."_

Nick slowly opened his eyes. He turned over on his side to face Jason's side of the room. He was sound asleep, snoring lightly. Nick thought about his dream. He never really thought about the time he and Finnick met, but now it was as clear as day. He slowly sat up and decided to find something to do for about an hour until everyone else woke up. He looked over at Jason's side of the room and spotted a pile of books. He wasn't one for reading, but he could enjoy a good book from time to time. He quietly walked over to Jason's bed and tapped his shoulder.

"Psst. Jason?"

Jason snorted and woke up. "Huh... what?"

"Can I read one of your books?"

Jason yawned. "Yeah, sure. Go ahead." And he rolled over and fell asleep again.

Nick picked up the stack of books and walked back to his bed. He scanned though them until one caught his eye. "Accepting all of me except for me". He opened it and read the inside cover to get an idea of what it was about. It was about a tiger who was bullied as a child for being a dangerous predator. She grew up thinking that she was nothing but worthless, so she hid herself away and only talked to her internet friends. Soon, she meets a friend who will help her overcome her feelings of worthlessness. Nick thought that it seemed like a good read, so he opened it and started.

"Dani. That's my name. Do you ever get that sinking feeling that no one likes you because of your species? I have. Here's my story..."

Nick was absoloutely intrigued by the book and read about 50 pages before a nurse came in and told him and Jason to go to breakfast. He decided to take the book with him and read it while he ate. When he got served his breakfast, waffles and hashbrowns, he sat down with Jason, Cas, and Sammy and started to read while he took bites of his food.

"Hey, Nick? Any news on Ellie?" Cas asked, taking a bite of her breakfast.

"They said she has the flu... or something."

Sammy nodded. "Not surprised. She had to get sick sooner or later, seeing that she hasn't actually had fresh air in a long time."

Nick nodded and they all engaged in small talk. After breakfast and group, Stacey walked to the front of the room. "Okay guys! We're going to the recreational therapy room. COme on now!"

She led half of them onto an elevator while the others waited for the second one with another nurse. When they all got to the recreation room, Nick couldn't help but smile widely. There were painting supplies, board games, coloring books, clay, crafts, and a radio was playing an upbeat song in the background. Everyone went to do their activities. Nick looked around for a moment before sitting down at a table with paint. He grabbed a piece of paper and set it down in front of him. He picked up a paint brush, dipping it in water and then dipping it into some grey paint. He started to paint a picture and about 20 minutes later, he heard someone sit down next to him. He turned around and smiled widely when he saw Ellie.

"Hey, Ellie! Feeling better?"

She nodded silently and took some paper and paint as well. They both painted while Nick talked to her. After another 10 minutes, they were done with their paintings and showed each other. She pointed towards his painting and nodded, smiling.

"Heh, thanks. I don't paint much though."

She cocked her head as if to ask "Who's that in the painting?"

"Her name is Judy... She's the nicest bunny I know... I really miss her... Is there anyone you really miss?"

Ellie nodded and held up her painting. A beautiful black cat with striking green eyes and white ears was painted sitting in a tree. She wore a pink tank top and light blue capris.

"Is that your friend?" Nick asked.

Ellie nodded and smiled.

"She looks really nice. I bet she's funny too. Is she?"

She nodded.

They admired each others work for a little while until Stacey walked up to them.

"Nick, Ellie? You both have visitors. Come on, let's go."


	10. Chapter 10

**OH MY GOSH HEY EVERYONE I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED! I'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH A REALLY BAD PATCH AND I KINDA FORGOT ABOUT MY STORY. I WROTE AN EXTRA LONG ONE JUST FOR YOU GUYS. BY THE WAY, THERE ARE SOME HOMOPHOBIC, TRANSPHOBIC, AND JUST MEAN TERMS IN HERE. IT'S NOT TO OFFEND ANYONE I SWEAR. JUST A TRIGGER WARNING IF HOMOPHOBIA AND TRANSPHOBIA AND BEING CALLED STUPID OR MUTE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT TRIGGERS YOU DON'T READ! PLEASE DONT I DONT WANT YOU TRIGGERED!**

Stacey led Nick and Ellie down to the bottom floor and to the visiting area. The cat from the painting was waiting outside of one of the rooms and smiled at Ellie brightly when she saw her. Ellie beamed and ran towards her friend and hugged her tightly. Nick was happy to see Ellie smiling like that. Stacey took him into the room next door where Finnick and Benjamin were waiting for him. He sat across from them and looked around awkwardly.

"Hey, Nick... How are you?" Benjamin asked, smiling a little.

"I'm... Actually a little better." Nick replied with a small grin.

"Well, good. I hate seeing you down all the time." Finnick added.

They all continued to talk for a few minutes. Nick told them about his new friends and about Ellie. After visitation with them was over, Nick was being escorted to the elevator by Stacey when he spotted Jason walking towards a visiting room. They waved to each other before Nick went back up. Recreational therapy was still in session, so Nick went over to a computer and turned it on.

"Hmmm... I wonder..."

He clicked the internet icon and a children's safe browser popped up. He couldn't visit tumblr, which annoyed him to a very dangerous degree. No facebook, which he didn't mind. No social media at all. Suddenly, he remembered his favorite old childhood game. He decided to type it into the browser bar. His face lit up as Poptropica came up. He clicked the button that would let him create a new character and went all out. He ended up creating a panda with a sly expression and a skull t-shirt with red pants. The name of the character was Tired Sky, which Nick didn't really like, but he couldn't change the name. He shrugged and got started. He was amazed at how many new islands there were. He remembered playing it when there were only 3. He decided to start with shrink ray island. He was in the middle of playing when he felt a paw on his shoulder. Ellie was looking at him as if to ask "what are you playing?"

"Oh! This is poptropica. Sit at the computer next to mine and I'll set up a character for you."

She sat down and Nick went to poptropica on her computer. He showed her how to make a charcter and she got really into the design. After about 10 minutes, she finally had her character. A yellow koala with a button up purple shirt and black pants. He showed her how to play and set her up on the very first island. She started playing and Nick went back to his. After about 20 more minutes, Jason came in. The only reason Nick noticed was because he heard sniffling and harsh footsteps enter the room. He turned around from his game and saw Jason sit alone at a table and slam his head down. Nick paused his game and walked over to him, sitting down and looking at him. He could hear muffled sobs coming from his friend.

"Jason?" Nick asked, leaning closer.

"L-leave me alone..." Jason choked out.

"A-are you sure? I mean if you wanna talk I-"

"I said leave me ALONE!" Jason hissed, snapping his head up and baring his teeth.

Nick flinched back and sighed, walking away and going back to his game. When recreational therapy was over after another hour, Nick and Ellie saved their games so they could log on later. By the time they were all back up and settled, it was time for lunch. The meal of the day was veggie burgers and french fries. Everyone got their meals and sat down. Jason sat alone and stared down at his food bitterly. Cas and Sammy noticed and walked over to Nick and Ellie's table.

"Hey... what's up with Jason?" Cas asked, clearly concerned.

"Yeah... he's acting peculiar" Sammy added, looking over at him.

Nick exhaled. "I uh... I don't really know. I tried talking to him, but he snapped at me so I left him alone."

They nodded and went back to their table. After a few minutes, Ellie got up to throw her plate away, unaware that Jason did as well. She wasn't paying attention and slammed into him. She splattered left over fries and ketchup all over her shirt. Jason turned around angrily, towering over her.

"You frikkin KLUTZ. Watch where you're going, mute!"

The whole room went dead silent and everyone turned around to look at them. After two seconds, he realized what he said and slapped a paw over his mouth with wide eyes.

"Ellie wait. I-"

But she was already crying and ran to her room. All eyes were on Jason and Stacey glared at him.

"Jason, I think you should come with me." She said sternly.

He lowered his head and followed her out of the room silently. Nick was absoloutely speechless. He would never expect Jason to say anything like that, much less to Ellie. He walked over to another nurse and asked if he could go talk to her. He hesitated before nodding and letting him go. Nick slowly walked into Ellie's room and spotted her laying on her bed, covered by a blanked patterned with hearts. He could her her sniffling quietly.

"Ellie?" He sat on her bed. "You okay?"

She peeked out of the blanket and shook her head.

"He didn't mean it. He's really upset and he just took it out on the wrong person." Nick said, looking at her with sympathy.

She slowly sat up and took her big glasses off, wiping her eyes. She put them back on and looked down.

"Ellie, you're not a klutz. You had a clumsy moment, but who hasn't? And it doesn't matter if you don't want to talk or can't talk. I'm still your friend. Jason's just really pissy right now. If it makes you feel any better, he snapped at me. Like full on bared his teeth and growled. Whatever he's mad about, it'll pass. I bet you anything he feels like an absolute dickhead right now." Nick continued. "I wonder what's got him so upset."

Ellie looked up, almost guiltily and then avoided eye contact.

"Ellie, do you know why he's so upset?"

She hesitated and then nodded. She made a heart with her paws, then split it in half.

Nick thought for a moment and then the lightbulb went off.

"Did Annie break up with him?"

She nodded. Nick let out a long low whistle. "That's gotta be rough... He was planning on proposing to her and everything. Wow... I don't know what to say...".

They sat in silence for a few more minutes.

"Do you wanna go back out there? Everyone is wondering if you're okay."

Ellie nodded and they walked out together. They sat at their table and she pulled out a coloring sheet and some crayons, coloring a picture of a meadow. A few minutes later, someone sat down next to her. She looked up and saw Jason. She stared up at him in fear and stopped coloring. Nick looked at him too. He wanted to hear what Jason had to say.

"Ellie... I'm so sorry... What I said wasn't cool at all. It was fucking stupid... You aren't a klutz... I took my anger out on you and that was wrong. Can you forgive me?"

Ellie looked at him for a while longer before smiling a little and nodding. She leaned over and gave him a small hug. He smiled sadly and nodded at them both before walking away and sitting with Sammy and Cas.

"Well at least that's over." Nick said, relieved.

Ellie nodded and continued to color. Nick noticed that Ellie drew her friend in the meadow with hearts around her.

"Ellie? Can I ask you something?"

She nodded.

"I noticed you're really close with your friend, and you seem to like her a lot... If you don't mind my asking, do you LIKE her? Like you know, romantically?" Nick instantly regretted asking.

Ellie shot her head up and her eyes were wide. She bit her lip and avoided eye contact.

"I don't mind if you're... you know gay or bi or anything. I really don't. I'm totally cool with it."

She looked behind her to make sure no one was listening and nodded.

"Well, to be honest, you guys look kinda cute together ." Nick said, smirking a little.

She blushed and covered her face with her paws.

"Does she know you like her?" Nick asked, becoming even more curious.

She shook her head and sighed.

"Well, I'm sure it'll work out. Do you ever plan on telling her?"

She shrugged and looked down at her drawing of her friend.

"Wait... what's her name?"

Ellie took out a pink crayon and spelled her name in pretty writing. Calypso.

"Woah. That's a badass name. That's an awesome name. Your ship name would me Callie."

Ellie gave Nick a confused look and he gasped.

"Do you not know what a ship is? Not the boat."

She shook her head.

"Do you know what an OTP is?"

She shook her head

"Do you know what a spam blog is?"

She shook her head

"Okay... One more question... Do you know what memes are?"

She shook her head one final time.

Nick leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"When we both get out of here, I'm showing you a whole new world. It's called tumblr. Got it?"

She nodded and smiled, humored by Nick's offer. A little while later, that rude teacher came in.

"Oh great..." Nick grumbled. "Ellie, if she says anything to you, ignore her."

Ellie took a deep breath and nodded.

The teacher, who Nick decided to call Miss. TurdBurglar walked up to the white board and wrote "Love" on the board.

"Now, this is pretty straightforward. you can't let somebody you 'love' consume your life. You have to have time for you and only you. You can't just sit around all day and draw pictures of them surrounded by hearts." Unsurprisingly, Miss. TurdBurglar glanced over at Ellie, but also Jason, who kept his head down.

"Jason, how about you? You seem pretty down. Did your little interspecies thing finally end? A pity, really. But then again, she isn't a lesbian."

Jason shot his head up and started to shake. Cas and Sammy put their arms around him defensively while glaring at the teacher. She just crossed the line. Nick was about to explode. That was going way too far.

"Can anyone give me an example of how they've let 'love' consume their life? Ellie, how about you? You sure have a lot of drawings of that cat girl. Are you a lesbian, by the way? We all want to know."

Ellie stared down at her coloring page and stayed silent. Nick was about done with this teacher. She basically outed Ellie to everyone, which wasn't cool even though Nick was sure none of them were homophobic.

"Still not talking, huh, mutey? Better move on before your fox on the side yells at me again."

Nick was about to say something, but was cut off by Dr. Small.

"MISS TARSA." He boomed.

The teacher dropped her marker and slowly turned around. 'BUSTED' Nick thought to himself with his signature sly smirk on his face.

"Uh.. S-sir..."

"In my office. NOW!"

Miss. Turdburglar shot Ellie and Nick a dirty look before grunting and following Dr. Small. As she disappeared, the whole room aside from Ellie and Jason shot her a smirk and mason even (not so secretly) flipped her off. Another nurse who was a golden labrador came in to watch them while this situation got sorted out.

"Ellie, I'm so sorry. That was uncalled for." Nick said, putting a paw on her shoulder.

She shrugged and shook her head, looking over at Jason who was crying into Sammy's shirt.

"Wanna go check on him?"

Ellie nodded. They both got up and walked over to Jason. He was breathing rapidly as tears poured out of his eyes.

"I-I'm not a g-girl. I'm NOT a girl. I'm not a girl I- I- I'm n- not..." He was crying so hard that he couldn't talk properly.

The nurse rushed over and she looked heartbroken. "Jason? Are you alright?"

Jason shook his head and continued to cry into Sammy's shirt, which was soaked with tears at this point.

"Jason, it's against the rules for nurses to use foul language in front of patients, so don't tell anyone I said this, but she's a fucknut and I hope she gets fired. I've always had a bad feeling about her to be honest."

Everyone nodded as if to agree and they continued to comfort Jason. The rest of the patients didn't know Jason that well, so they thought it would be best to not talk to him, but they watched the whole thing. The rest of the day went by pretty smoothly, but everyone was in a foul mood. Roomtime was dead silent. Everyone was drained from the day, so they all took naps. When bed time rolled around, Nick decided he was going to talk to Jason. He said goodnight to Ellie, Cas, and Sammy and walked to his room where Jason sat on his bed looking at the wall.

"Jason? We need to talk..."


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! New chapter... Trigger warning... There are mentions of feelings of worthlessness, and things like that. Please don't read if you are sensitive to that... Please... I know this chapter is incredibly short.. I'm sorry... I just feel really bad right now and I have little to no motivation. The next chapter will be better. Promise.**

"Jason, we need to talk..."

"What do you want, Nick?" Jason replied bitterly.

"I know you're upset... I know that some bad things have happened... I'm sorry... I-"

"You don't know anything!" He snapped. "You don't know how hard it is! You don't know. You just... You just don't know..."

Nick stayed silent. He didn't know what to say or do, so he did the only thing he could think of. He sat down next to Jason and wrapped him in a tight hug. Jason broke down and started sobbing.

"I- I love her, Nick! She- She just l-left. She said she couldn't handle my issues anymore a-and she's w-with some other guy now."

His sobs were getting louder and louder and Nick was afraid the staff might get mad, but continued to comfort his friend.

"She- She's not gonna help me p-pay for h-h-hormones anymore, man. She- she's not gonna be there anymore... No more dates, n-no more... n-n-no more of her ki-kisses... No more of ANYTHING!"

"Shhh... it's okay, Jason... I'm here..." Nick said soothingly, hugging him tighter.

"N-Nick?"

"Yeah, Jason?"

"D-do you think I'll ever find anyone who... who will accept me for who I am? Wh-who will love me n-no matter what?"

"I'm positive you will..."

"Thanks, man..."

"No problem... I'm here for you."

Ellie's POV

I can hear Jason crying from his room and Nick talking to him. I feel awful for him... It's terrible... Terrible that his jerk of a girlfriend broke it off, terrible what that teacher did, it's all just terrible. I'm trying to sleep, but I can't. Sure I was given my sleeping medicine, but I couldn't stop thinking about Jason. And Nick. They are both so kind, but they have been through hell. Why does this stuff happen to these types of animals? The ones that are worth something. I deserve what I'm going through... I deserve it all. I wish I could speak what my mind says, but I find it impossible. I just can't bring myself to talk... Not since the incident. I decide to try and think about something else. Anything else. An image of my little sister popped into my head. I miss her. I wish she were here... I miss my brother too... And my mom... and my dad... And Calypso... A tear rolled down my cheek and I rolled over to face the wall. I could hear my roomate, Lexi snoring quietly. I wish I could sleep that peacefully. The crying from Jason and Nick's room has died down and now it's quiet. I wonder what life is like outside of this place. How many episodes of my favorite shows have aired, the new kinds of inventions, the freedom to do what you want... I've been in here a little more than 6 months and I don't see myself getting out any time soon. I hope everyone in here gets better soom... They deserve to be happy... Unlike me. Sometimes I think about what it would be like if I were truly happy. I wouldn't be here... Then again, I wouldn't have met Nick. Ugh... Everything has to be so difficult. I guess I better try to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

The next day was unusually cheerful for everyone. All of the patients seemed to take comfort in the fact that the awful teacher was no longer going to treat them with the cruelty that had plagued them for so long. When breakfast rolled around, Nick decided to sit with Jason, Cas, and Sammy, but not before inviting Ellie to join them. He looked around until he spotted her slowly walking out of her room. His eyes widened as she approached him. She looked like she didn't sleep at all. Her eyes were bloodshot, her fur was disheveled, and she had her signature frown, but it was much more prominent.

"Hey, Ellie… You alright?" He asked, putting a paw on her shoulder.

She yawned and nodded, looking up at him with a small smile. With some gentle persuading, he had convinced the little raccoon to join him and his other friends for breakfast. When she sat down, the tension in the room seemed to multiply. What happened with Jason the previous day still burned in her mind and it was clear that she was afraid of him. Jason took a breath, as if to say something, but looked away and picked at his food. After the awkward breakfast, Dr. Small strolled into the room. All of the animals had to look up at the massive elephant, but he had no problem keeping eye contact with the patients.

"As you all know…" He started. "Miss Tarsa wasn't a… proficient instructor for this hospital."

"Down right fucking terrible is more like it!" Mason growled.

Dr. Small ignored the vulgar language. "SO, for the time being, you will have a new instructor. Everyone say hello to Mr. Carson. A big pit bull walked into the room and silently nodded his head as if to say 'hello'.

"Now, since today is a Monday, we will be having our class in the morning. Mr. Carson, I'll leave you to it."

Dr. Small left the room and it was dead silent.

"Alright… Let's get this over with, guys." Mr. Carson said in a bored tone. "Now, I ain't gonna baby any of you. I assume most of you are or almost are adults, so I'll treat you like one."

Nick liked this guy already.

"Now, I'm gonna be real with y'all for a second. Life can suck, right? Right?"

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.

"So, how do you handle it? Well, it's simple. Don't let life drag you down. When it gives you lemons, don't just make nasty lemonade. Make a whole damn lemon farm. A lemon farm starts with a lemon tree. A lemon tree starts with a lemon seed. Get what I'm saying? Start off small when you try to improve your life. Don't immediately make a whole lemon farm! Plant a tree first. Then another. Then another! Little by little, you'll have more lemon trees. Then you'll have a farm."

For the first time, everyone listened intently to what a teacher had to say in that hospital. Nick especially liked the lemon farm metaphor. When the lesson was over, the patients had free time. Nick, of course, sat with Ellie and talked to her while she colored and nodded in agreement every so often. After another hour, it was about 10:45 AM and a phone could be heard ringing. A nurse picked it up and Nick overheard him speaking with someone.

"19? Okay… Do you have any sort of insurance?"

"I see… Then it will most likely be covered."

"Self harm. Alright… Drug abuse… yes, we offer drug rehab…"

" We can't force your son into this hospital if he doesn't want to be here, ma'am. He's 19, therefore a legal adult…. "

"Hmm… okay… Bring him in then. I'll set up an appointment for 5:00 PM"

Nick wondered if a new patient would arrive, but the thought went into the back of his mind when he felt Ellie tug on his shirt.

"Yeah, El?"

She discreetly pointed behind Nick. Sammy and Cas were eyeing him while Jason kept his head down.

"Wonder what's up with them…" He mumbled quietly.

He shrugged and continued his one sided conversation with Ellie. Soon lunch came, then it was time for a "special surprise" as the nurses called it. The whole room of patients nearly flipped their shit with joy when a poodle who made snowcones decided to come in and give everyone a free one with a flavor of their choice. Nick chose blueberry flavored unsurprisingly. He sat down with Ellie and looked at her dark green and black snowcone.

"Uh… No offense Ellie, but that looks sorta gross, heh…" Nick said with a chuckle.

Ellie stuck her tongue out at him in mock anger and took a big bite of her treat. She offered some to Nick.

"Sure, why not."

He took a spoon and ate a small amount. After about 3 seconds, his face twisted into a pucker and his eyes watered.

"O-oh my god. That's really sour." He noted, trying to hide the fact that he was in severe pain from the citric acid that was practically dumped onto the snowcone.

Ellie stifled a laugh and took a huge bite, not even changing her facial expression.

"Holy shit, Ellie. You're a God."

She shrugged and took another bite. After that and more free time, it was recreational therapy again. Nick noticed how the schedule here was never definite, but he like it that way. He and Ellie spent a portion of their time playing poptropica before painting and playing catch with a soft ball. After that, it was room time. When he was about to go into his room, a nurse stopped him.

"Nick, you have a visitor. Let's go."

She took him down to the visiting quarters and lo and behold, the man Nick never hoped to see stood right before him.

"Dad?..."

 **AYE LMAO! Shitty plot twist, I know. But yeah, here's a chapter. Sorry about… you know… not updating for a while. I'll try to be better about that, my dudes. Man, so much happened, but I finally got off my lazy butt and updated!**


	13. Chapter 13

"Dad?..."

"Nicholas…"

Nick stared at the nurse in disbelief "What's he doing here? I thought only the therapist for my unit could authorize visitors. I- I haven't even talked to her yet!"

The nurse exhaled. "She did authorize a visit from your father. She located him and requested him to come see you."

Nick turned around and stared at the slightly stocky fox staring back at him with nothing but resentment. "I don't want to see him."

"Nicholas, your therapist said-"

"I don't want to see him! Please. Take me back up to the unit…"

After a few minutes of arguing with the nurse, she gave in and took Nick back up. As his father started to stroll out casually, he heard a woman with her son in the waiting room mutter "Wonder what problems he has with HIS son."

He shook his head, took a cigarette out of his pocket and left the building.

When Nick returned to his room, he sat on his bed and huffed angrily.

"Woah, you okay?"

Nick looked over to see Jason peering up from yet another book of his.

"Just… frustrated…"

Jason chuckled. "I can see that, Wilde. What are you frustrated about?"

Nick pulled a blanket over himself and turned over.

"Don't wanna talk about it…" He muttered.

Jason shrugged. "Fair enough, dude."

As Nick fell asleep, he couldn't stop thinking about his dad.

"I can't handle this kid anymore, Shawna!"

Nick had been playing with an action figure in his room when the yelling started.

"Stop it, Leo! He can't help that he wants to be a prey animal!"

"He's a little freak!"

"No! He just doesn't want to be considered evil and savage. He knows what racism is and he doesn't want to be a part of it!"

Nick slowly put his action figure down and sneaked out of his room, looking through the rails at his arguing parents.

"He has I don't know how many action figures of that... that… Whatever the fuck it's called rabbit!"

"Her name is Bailey Bunny and it's obviously something Nick cares about!"

Nick stared numbly at the two. They fought all the time. Sometimes his dad would even hit his mom… He couldn't save her. He was just a little kid. So, he turned to Bailey Bunny, the hero rabbit with a sense of humor and a liking for blueberries. Her most notable feature was her bright purple eyes. He always had the feeling he'd meet someone as great as her someday. Someone to take him and his mom away from all the-

*SMASH*

He quickly looked down to see a broken lamp and his mother on the ground sobbing while the apartment door lay open with muddy boot prints trekking outward. You couldn't tell they were footprints at first glance. It's almost as if the animal wearing them had been waiting to run for years.

He slowly walked downstairs and put a small paw on his mother's back.

"Mom?..."

"Nick…" She wrapped him in a tight hug. "My sweet little Nick. I promise you… You can be whatever you want… Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Alright?"

He nodded silently.

"Nick…"

"Yeah, mom?

"Nick…"

"Mom…?

"Nick!"

Nick opened his eyes and Jason was staring down at him. He realized he had been dreaming again.

"What… Is- is room time over?"

"More than over dude. It ended like two hours ago… It's dinner time. The nurses decided to let you sleep."

Nick yawned and kicked his blanket away, stretching and following Jason out of the room. He noticed that there was a new patient. A miserable looking thin pig picking at his dinner. He found Ellie and saw that there was already a plate for him.

"Hey, Ellie…" He yawned again and looked down at his dinner. Spaghetti with garlic bread.

She peered up at him and smiled widely. Almost suspiciously.

"What're you so happy about?" He asked, grinning a little. "You're acting a bit suspicious."

She looked around to make sure the nurses weren't looking and reached into the hood of her jacket, pulling out a bag of sour candy.

"Ellie…" He chuckled. "Did you get that at the visitation?"

She nodded and tore it open, eating a piece and smiling wider.

"Isn't that against the rules or something? I saw it on the check in papers."

She nodded and nick almost cackled. "Ellie, you punk. Breaking the rules. Let me guess. Did Calypso bring it?"

She nodded once more and offered him a piece. "No thanks. I'd rather not lose my taste buds."

She shrugged and pushed her dinner aside, almost inhaling the candy.

Nick sighed in contentment. He was still pissed about his father having the nerve to come see him, but he was happy for the support he had here. He looked over at Jason, Cas and Sammy and they were quietly chatting about God knows what. He looked back over at the alarmingly thin pig and decided to go talk to him. He got up and started to walk over, but Mason grabbed his arm with a massive paw.

"I wouldn't. The dude's a fucking ass."

"Wait, really? How so?"

Lexi, the bunny who had a tinier table upon the table for Mason since she was much smaller spoke up.

"He came while you were napping and when I tried to talk to him he told me to piss off… What the fuck, right?"

"What the fuck indeed…" Mason mumbled angrily.

Nick nodded silently and returned to his seat. He was surprised that Mason bothered to stop him. There were lots of patients here that he didn't acknowledge. Some he never even thought about at all. It was mainly because he was friends with Ellie, Jason, Cas and Sammy, and plus everyone had their own little groups. Still, he thought it would be a good idea to get to know all of them sooner or later. After eating his food, he got up to throw it away and returned to see Ellie had finished off the bag of candy.

"Wow, Ellie. Save some for me."

She stuck her now green tongue out at him and got up to throw the candy wrapper away. A few minutes later, Ellie got up to get a coloring sheet and accidentally bumped into the pig.

"HEY! FUCK OFF, YOU LITTLE WEIRDO!" The pig suddenly snapped.

Nick saw and tried to intervene "Hey, she didn't mean to. Don't talk to her like that." He said calmly, yet seriously.

Ellie jumped back and tried to sign that she was sorry. He wasn't having it. He bounded towards her. Then he was single-handedly lifted off the ground in a choke hold by none other than Mason. "I swear to God, man. If you step outta line one more time I'll kill you. I swear to God, man. Don't lay a finger on the mute or I'll rip your head off myself!"

The pig was struggling and clawing at Mason's arm and a few nurses were trying to restrain Mason. He finally dropped the pig carelessly and didn't fight the nurses that led him to the quiet room to calm down. The pig was showing signs of aggression, so a lion nurse picked him up by the back of his shirt and took him to another quiet room while he kicked and yelled.

Nick watched the whole thing go down and then turned to Ellie. She was sitting on the ground curled in a ball, quietly sobbing.

"Hey… hey, It's okay Ellz."

He kneeled and put a paw on her back. She flinched, but looked up to see Nick and crawled towards him, hugging him and crying. Normally, the nurses restricted physical contact, but for some reason, they decided to let this slide. He rubbed her back and told her everything was alright for about twenty minutes before she gained some composure and wiped her eyes.

"Better?" Nick asked

She nodded and they both stood up and sat back down at their table.

Nick's ears were still slightly ringing from the yelling pig. He could hear him yelling from the quiet room down the hall. He decided that if this pig gave anyone else any more trouble, he'd be answering to Wilde himself.


	14. Chapter 14

Nicks P.O.V.

Today marks the three week anniversary of my ultimate demise and admission to Grassy Hills. I gotta say, it isn't so bad. I mean, besides the fights, screaming and crying patients, my occasional panic attacks... My therapist being a jerk... Heh... Well, it isn't ALL bad.

3rd PERSON POV

"Nick... Tell me more about your childhood..." Ms. Doe, a skinny deer, said kindly, yet sternly.

Nick could tell by the tone of his therapist's voice that he probably didn't have much of a choice.

"What else is there to say? My dad was an ass, I was bullied... etcetera..."

"I feel as though you aren't telling me something."

"Well, you have fun with that," Nick replied bitterly.

With a sigh, Ms. Doe opened the door for him, signaling for him to exit and go back to the common area. "Nick... You'll have to open up if you want to recover..."

He mumbled a few choice words and walked tiredly. It was free time in the common area, so he took his usual seat across from Ellie.

"Hey, Ellz."

He never asked how she was feeling anymore because lately, it had been the same response. Shrugged shoulders and avoided eye contact. He could see the bags under her eyes more prominently and she had no longer made an effort to brush her fur. He had no room to talk. His fur was also disheveled and he guessed that he had bags just as much as she did. He never bothered to look in the mirror anymore, though, so he just guessed. Things in the unit hadn't been all that fantastic. The little squirrel left and was soon replaced with an anxious 18-year-old deer named Dani. She was quite the character, according to half the nurses. An average of three panic attacks a day along with a high sensitivity to noise, which she blocked out with huge headphones. Jason, Cal, and Sammy had won her over, so she spent most of her time chatting with them while fiddling with whatever was in her hooves. Usually paper. Mason was put into the quiet room for a whole day when he almost decapitated that asshole pig when he tried to hit Lexi.

Nick sighed heavily and watched Ellie draw yet another picture of her family. She had been drawing them a lot lately, and it made Nick wonder if something was wrong.

"Ellie?"

She looked up tiredly.

"Why do you draw your family so often?"

She stopped drawing and stared at him vacantly. He was almost... scared. The way she looked at him was a signal to shut the fuck up. But, as the famous Nicholas Wilde, he pressed for answers.

"Ellie, I really... I really want to help you. I do. But you gotta say SOMETHING."

He instantly regretted bringing up the idea of her saying something. She continued to stare at him, but her eyes appeared darker. Perhaps angry? He decided, 'fuck it. what's the worst that could happen.'

"Ellie. Come on. We're all dealing with stuff, okay? I want to help you. But you aren't letting me."

The crayon in her hand snapped in half. Her stare turned into a full on glare. The baggy and bloodshot eyes didn't help with that. Nick suddenly got uncharacteristically mad.

"Yeah, break a crayon, Ellie. What the fuck is that gonna solve? Huh?"

She silently shot daggers at him with her eyes and picked up a new one, continuing her portrait of her family.

"Fine. Be that way..."

Ellie ignored him, which for some reason pissed him off more. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He didn't know why he was so on edge. He looked around and noticed the whole environment seemed tense. Then he realized it. The holiday season. It was December 11th. It sunk in. He wouldn't be home for Christmas. Most likely, every patient here would be present for it. He sighed and reached across the table, gently taking the blue crayon from Ellie.

"I'm sorry, Ellie... I shouldn't have been like that."

She didn't look up at him, but he saw little droplets spilling onto the paper. Tears...

"H-hey... Hey, Ellie. Don't-... don't cry... Come on... What's going on?"

She looked up at him and wrung her paws, hesitating before picking up a red crayon. Slowly, she drew an X over her little sister.

"...Ellie?"

Then she drew an X over her mom. Then her dad. Then her brother. The lightbulb clicked and Nick realized it. Her family was dead.

"Oh... Ellie I-..."

"M-... m-..."

He stopped talking when he heard a raspy voice. No doubt from being out of use for so long. She was going to talk.

"My-... M-... my f-f-f...ault..."

He didn't know what do say, what to do, or how to react. She gripped the red crayon in her hand and started breathing rapidly.

"M-my f-f-fault... M-...My-... fault..."

A nurse had taken notice and quickly ran to her.

"Ellie?" She said calmly.

"my fault...my fault my fault..."

"Ellie. Calm down... Calm down."

Nick rolled his eyes at the nurse's feeble attempt to help Ellie. To be fair, though, she was probably shocked that the little raccoon was speaking.

"My- My ...fault my fault my-... my -..." Ellie was breathing heavily and tears were pouring down her face.

A panic attack. Nick had been around long enough to know one.

Everyone in the unit had caught the wind to what was going on and were all watching silently, anxiously, as if they were anticipating something.

"Ellie, come on. I'm taking you to the quiet room."

"NO!" Ellie's shrill scream seemed to echo through the room.

The nurse was caught off guard but picked up the small raccoon with her big paws.

"NO NO NO PLEASE NO!" The little raccoon began to hit the nurse's arms with her small fists, which went almost unnoticed.

"Hey, put her down! She doesn't want to go." Nick snapped.

"This does not concern you, Nicholas!" The nurse replied harshly.

Nick furiously glared at the nurse. His paws clenched into fists and he bared his teeth.

"PLEASE LET ME GO! I'M SORRY!" Ellie sobbed and thrashed around. It was clear that restraining her wasn't the right thing to do. They needed to let her cry herself out.

Nick didn't really remember what happened next. All he knew was that he was being restrained and that someone stabbed him with a needle before everything went black.

 ** _"Wake me up... when September ends..." The sound of a gentle voice through the room._**

 ** _"So... how do I look?"_**

 ** _Ellie stood up from the simple chair in her room and straightened her dress. A fit and flare purple one with spaghetti straps._**

 ** _Calypso smiled. "Amazing as always! And I love your voice. You should sign up for the school talent show. Singing, dancing, sweeping the boys off their feet."_**

 ** _The cat dramatically spun around and fell onto Ellie's bed at that last part._**

 ** _"Heh. No way, Calypso."_**

 ** _Calypso rolled her eyes playfully and sat up._**

 ** _"Well, at least sing some karaoke at the dance tonight. I want all those dumb upperclassmen to see how talented my date is."_**

 ** _Ellie chuckled halfheartedly. She knew Calypso just meant that as a platonic thing, which sort of made her a tad bit sad._**

 ** _"What? Nah. They'll see a freshman with a puny eighth grader."_**

 ** _" Pffffft! Who cares? You're still mega cool."_**

 ** _"Whatever you say, Calypso... Heh..."_**

 ** _"You know I love you, Ellie." Calypso booped Ellie's nose and Ellie laughed softly._**

 ** _"Love you, too..."_**

Ellie slowly opened her eyes and found herself in her bed. She looked over to see Lexi sitting on her own bed silently.

"Hey, Ellie..."

The little raccoon looked over at the green eyed bunny tiredly. Lexi took that as a hint to fill her in.

"When you started... well... yelling and stuff... A nurse sedated you. Nick got extremely mad and lunged for her, but Jason caught him and after being restrained by a couple nurses and not backing down he was sedated too... He actually already woke up. You've been out for... A while... It's dinner time, so if you want to eat, you can. I insisted on staying here with you after I ate."

Ellie nodded slowly and got up, walking out of the room. A few nurses stared at her, not knowing what to say. Nick was sitting at their usual table. His paws were clenched and his ears were pinned back. Not a good sign. She got her meal from a server and sat down across from him. He looked up and groggily sighed. "Hey, Ellie..."

The sedative was still affecting him, as it was her. She yawned in response and stuck a fork into her food before laying her head on the table and groaning silently.

"...Tired?"

She nodded while keeping her head on the table.

"Me too, Ellie..."

Nick noticed that the whole unit was staring at the two of them, but he tried not to care.

"Ellie... Are you-... well... I know you're not okay... Are you a little better?"

She hesitated but nodded silently. He didn't expect her to talk. He knew she needed time. Just then, a nurse came by to give Ellie her nightly medication. Four oddly shaped pills. He turned to Nick.

"Nick, the doctor has prescribed you some Zoloft. Here." He gave nick a tiny cup with two green pills in it. He swallowed them without any argument and handed the doctor the empty cup. Ellie took hers one at a time and handed him her cup as well.

Nick leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "Man, today's been a shitty day."

Then the nurses called the whole unit together for a group activity.

"And now comes the cherry on top..."


	15. Sort of an update (?)

Guys, I need to say something. I love you all to death, honestly. You all are great. I appreciate all the positive feedback and messages from those of you checking up on me. But I really need to address something. I am not a machine. I have gotten a few messages from people who shall not be named telling me to update and update and update to the point where they threaten me. I'm having a REALLY hard time right now. Finals are kicking my ass and something that I'm not going to go into detail about happened recently and honestly, I'm tired. To the people saying "Update soon! I love your story! or "Keep writing!" You are NOT the problem. The problem is when I get threats because I haven't updated in a few months. I'm trying. I really am. It just gets hard sometimes. I have a life outside of this story as hard as it's been lately. I have responsibilities and priorities that sometimes push the story aside. I am currently working on the next chapter, which will revolve around Ellie and some of her past as well as Jason and his feelings towards certain patients. Mason will also play a pretty significant part in the story, so don't think I'm not working on it. I really am. I want to make it really long this time. Like 3,000 words or more, so it may take a bit


	16. Chapter 15

_**REMEMBER WHEN I SAID I WOULDN'T FOCUS ON LOVE INTERESTS AT ALL? YOU GULLIBLE FOOLS! YOU HAVE BEEN BAMBOOZLED. THERE'S A LOT OF LOVE IN THIS CHAPTER.**_

It had been about a week and a half since Ellie's breakdown. Tensions in the unit were still high and nobody could seem to relax. Nick had just left another unhelpful therapy session and sat with Ellie during free time. She had gotten to a point where she would occasionally respond to Nick with "yes" or "no".

"Hey, Ellie. You doing okay?"

The small raccoon pushed up her big square glasses, hesitating before replying "...yes"

"You sure?"

"Yes"

He shrugged "Alright then."

To anyone else, Ellie's small vocabulary would leave them unimpressed, but Nick was just happy that she was starting to talk. Nobody dared to bring up her family again. Even the therapist was told to avoid the subject for a few weeks. Ellie got up from her seat and returned with a small box that contained the game CandyLand.

"Candyland huh? Wanna ask Jason if he wants to play with us?" Nick asked.

Jason was sitting alone. Cas and Sammy were both in separate therapy sessions, so he sat at the empty table, aimlessly flipping through a book. Ellie hesitated, but nodded and slowly walked up to Jason. She tugged on his shirt and he looked down at her.

"Oh... Hey, Ellie... What's up?"

She pointed to Nick and he pointed to the boardgame.

"You want me to play with you guys..? Sure... why not?"

He got up and they both walked over to Nick and Ellie's usual table.

When the game was set up, Jason took the first turn.

"Alright, let's see." He drew a card. "Two purple spaces forward... Nice!"

The game progressed and soon Jason was in the lead with only four more squares to go until he reached the castle. Ellie was close behind with seven more spaces, but tragically, Nick was farther away with 13 spaces to go. He cracked his knuckles and reached for a card.

"I have a good feeling about this," Nick mumbled slyly.

He picked up a card and let out a loud "HAHA!"

He slammed the card down to reveal a straight pass to the castle.

"No," Ellie said in a bland but somehow heartbroken way.

"Damnit!" Jason howled in mock anger.

"Jason! Language!" A nurse scolded him before going back to reading her book.

Nick moved his gingerbread man to the castle and purposefully knocked Jason's over.

"Man, you suck," Jason grumbled as he crossed his arms.

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart," Nick replied smoothly.

Ellie seemed to be the only one to notice Jason blush after Nick said that particular statement. Her eyes widened a little, but she quickly dismissed it as her being overanalytical.

They were about to set up another round but decided to stack all the gingerbread men on top of each other and try to balance everything on top of them. A nurse came over to their table.

"I'm sorry to interrupt... that, but Ellie, you have a visitor. Let's go."

Ellie hopped out of her seat and followed the nurse to the elevator. When they got in, he looked down at her and smiled. "I'm very happy that you're becoming a bit more vocal, Ellie."

She looked up at him and nodded before the elevator door opened. He led her out and into a small meeting room, where Calypso sat waiting. When she saw the little raccoon, she stood up and swooped her into a hug. The nurse closed the door and left them alone.

"Hey, Ellie... You doing okay?" Calypso asked as she sat down with Ellie.

Calypso wasn't aware that Ellie was slowly becoming more vocal, so Ellie decided to try to say something.

"...y-...yeah... A-A-re you?"

Calypso stared at Ellie with an astonished look on her face before a few tears escaped her eyes. She took Ellie's paws in hers and smiled.

"I've missed that voice so much... You don't even know..."

Ellie smiled a few tears fell from her eyes as well. For the next few minutes, Calypso talked to Ellie about what had been going on outside of the hospital and how things were since she had started college.

"You should be starting college soon after you get out... Right, Ell?"

Ellie nodded and smiled at her dear friend.

Calypso showed Ellie a few videos online as well as some drama going on between some of their former friends. After about twenty minutes, Ellie noticed that Calypso seemed to be a little bit nervous.

She put a paw on her shoulder and cocked her head. Calypso knew that that meant "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah... I'm fine! It's really nothing."

Ellie kept her paw on her shoulder until she sighed.

"Do you remember the dance?"

Ellie's eyes widened and Calypso paused before frantically waving her paws.

"N-No. I-.. I don't mean... that... I mean... w-well... before that other thing."

Ellie sighed and looked up at Calypso nervously. She sure did, but she thought Calypso forgot.

 _"We should get going or we'll be late," Calypso said as she stood up from Ellie's bed. They both walked out of Ellie's room and downstairs where her family was sitting watching a movie. Ellie's brother, Mikey was laying back in the recliner and her little sister, Hazel was on the floor, fast asleep while curled up in her favorite blanket._

 _Her mother stood up and her father followed._

 _"Oh! You two are absolutely stunning!" Her mother cooed as she walked over to them, pulling her phone out of her pocket to take pictures."_

 _"My little girl is growing up so fast. You better take a stick with you so you can beat all the boys away!" Her father chimed in._

 _Soon, her parents finished up taking pictures and went into the kitchen to get some snacks for the next movie._

 _"Heh, beating guys away with a stick. That doesn't seem likely." Mikey chimed in as he took a sip of his soda. "I'm pretty sure you and Calypso have a... thing going on. Hehe" He wiggled his eyebrows and Ellie glared him down. She had come out to him when she was 11 and he never ceased to lightly tease her about it._

 _"Sorry, Mikey. I'm about 98% sure I'm straight." Calypso shot back, crossing her arms. She leaned in and whispered to Ellie "Give or take a few percentage points."_

 _Ellie giggled and blushed, but assumed Calypso was just joking as they walked out of the house and made their way to the dance. The school was walking distance from Ellie's house, so they had no problem walking._

 _"Ugh, thank GOD I decided to wear flats," Calypso said as they approached the school._

 _"Same here, Calypso. Jeez... I wonder how many break ups are gonna go down at the dance tonight... How many was it last time?"_

 _Calypso pondered on that question for a moment. "About five I think."_

 _They both shared a brief laugh and walked into the school. They could hear the loud music coming from the gymnasium and excitedly paid for their tickets at the front desk. They both walked in and were almost overwhelmed by the hundreds of students dancing under the flashing lights to loud music._

 _"So, what should we do?!" Calypso shouted over the music._

 _"Dance?!" Ellie replied loudly._

 _"Sounds good to me!"_

 _They both danced like no one was watching and were laughing hysterically until a slow song came on about twenty minutes later. A mix of groans and cheers emulated from all the students as some paired up while others stood to the side._

 _"May I have this dance?" Calypso grinned and held her paw out to Ellie._

 _Ellie felt her cheeks heat up and nodded, accepting the offer._

 _Calypso put a paw on Ellie's waist and the other on her shoulder. Ellie had never slow danced before, so she just copied Calypso. They at first, started to dance clumsily at first, but then they got the hang of it. Calypso smiled at Ellie. The little raccoon thought her heart was about to burst out of her chest when she suddenly felt someone push her away from Calypso. She looked up to see a gray cat glaring at her._

 _"Why are you here with her?! You should be here with ME!"_

 _Calypso rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "We broke up three weeks ago, Bradley. Get OVER it!"_

 _Ellie noticed that a few animals had stopped dancing to stare at the conflict, so she lightly tapped Calypso's shoulder._

 _"C-Calypso... I- I think maybe we should-"_

 _"Stay outta this, weirdo!" Bradley hissed. He pushed Ellie away and she almost fell onto the ground, but Calypso caught her._

 _"Hey! Don't touch her!"_

 _"Why? Is she your girlfriend or some gross shit like that? Is THAT why you're here with HER?"_

 _More animals were staring and Ellie was becoming more and more anxious. Calypso took Ellie's paw in hers. "Whether she is or not is NONE of your business! Come on, Ellie."_

 _She dragged Ellie away and Bradley grumbled before stomping off in the opposite direction. The eavesdropping animals shrugged and went back to their dancing._

 _Calypso and Ellie found themselves sitting on a bench outside near the cafeteria, which was a fair distance from the gym, so the music was barely audible._

 _"That guy's full of shit," Calypso grumbled._

 _Ellie put a paw on her shoulder. "Um... W-well... Yeah, you're right. h-heh... what a numbnuts, right?"_

 _Her attempt to lighten the mood worked. Calypso chuckled and smiled warmly at the raccoon._

 _"So... wanna smoke?" Calypso asked suddenly._

 _Ellie glanced around nervously. "H-here? What if we get caught?"_

 _"Nah... We're far away. If you don't want to, it's totally fine though, Ellie."_

 _She hesitated but nodded. "Let's do it."_

 _Calypso smiled and dug around in her small purse. She took out a small bag of marijuana and a pipe._

 _"Is that the same strain as before?" Ellie looked at the bag of cannabis and noticed it looked different from their go to kind._

 _"Nah, my dealer got me a new kind. He said this one helps with headaches, curbs depression, and that it makes you super talkative."_

 _"Sweet. So... shall we?"_

 _Calypso nodded and stuffed some weed into the pipe. She took a lighter out of her purse and lit it, inhaling the smoke and exhaling it after a few seconds. She handed the pipe to Ellie, who did the same. After about twenty minutes, they were both high._

 _"S-so I told him to fuck off right!?" Calypso exclaimed as she dramatically waved her paws around. "But he just wasn't wanting to break up despite me telling him I hated his guts! So I roasted his ass. I'm surprised he didn't go crying to his mom or somethin'."_

 _"You sure did. He was out of the diddly damn line, man." Ellie replied as she lit the pipe and smoked some more._

 _"Like, he thinks he can control me. But I am NOT going to be controlled by some guy who doesn't know the difference between playing hard to get and flat out saying no. What a fucking prick."_

 _"He's such a dick, oh my God. You should totally tell his new girlfriend what a bastard he is. Save the poor girl. "_

 _"I fucking will!"_

 _They both burst into laughter, which lasted for a good ten minutes before they calmed down. They both wiped their eyes and looked at each other._

 _"You know, Ellie... I'm glad I met you..."_

 _"I'm glad I met you too, Cal."_

 _They gazed at each other quietly. Ellie looked into Calypso's green eyes and felt her heart start to pound. Her feelings for her friend were becoming too much to hide._

 _"Calypso... I-I think I may lo-"_

 _Ellie wasn't able to finish her sentence because Calypso's lips were suddenly on hers. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and she was convinced this was some cruel joke that the head high was playing on her, but she relaxed and shakily put her paws on Calypso's shoulders. Calypso put a paw on Ellie's waist, sending fireworks through her body. Right as Calypso parted her lips a bit more, Ellie's phone rang loudly. They quickly separated and Ellie snatched her phone from her purse and answered it._

 _"H-Heckler- Hello?" She said breathlessly._

 _"Uh_ hey _, El."_

 _She sighed when she heard her brother on the line. "We're coming to pick you and Calypso up in about an hour and a half. Mom said to tell you it's gonna start raining, so yeah... Don't worry about walking home. She called Calypso's parents and they said she could crash with us for the night since the weather is gonna get bad."_

 _"...yeah, no no... I uh-... ah... Thanks, Mikey. Love you, broseph!"_

 _"...Are you fucking stoned right now?"_

 _"U-uh... yeah"_

 _Calypso sat there staring at Ellie._

 _"Jeez, Ellie. You'd think the straight A smart kid of the family would know NOT to do that at school. You'd better hope mom and dad don't pick up on it when we get there."_

 _"Uh... yea..."_

 _"Heh, okay. Drink some water. My experiences show that water helps."_

 _"...Okay"_

 _"Well, bye. Seeya later"_

 _He hung up and she put her phone away. Then she remembered what had just happened between her and Calypso. She looked at the cat, who was already looking back at her with the same expression of bewilderment._

 _"C-Cal-"_

 _"Wh-what was that?! Did we r-really-"_

 _"I-I- I don't know... I-"_

 _They both stared at each other, not knowing what to say or do. Calypso opened her mouth to speak when they heard thunder booming overhead._

 _"L-let's... go inside..." Ellie suggested quietly._

 _"Yeah... Inside..."_

Ellie sighed and nodded. "Y-...yes..."

Calypso nervously fiddled with the string on her hoodie while trying to think of something to say.

"D-Did you... like it?"

Ellie quietly glanced around and nodded quickly. They were silent for a few minutes.

"I-... I think I did too..." Calypso said quietly. "I-... I thought-... It was just the high... But... I-... It wasn't just that... I, well... I was in denial about... liking girls and all... My family's really religious, ya know... They're against that kind of thing. I-... I realized that I like everything about you. Your jokes a-and... the way your nose scrunches up when you laugh... How you always care about others... I- I..." She paused for a moment. "I think I-... I may... l-love you... Ugh... I dunno..."

Ellie couldn't believe her ears. She stared at Calypso with the same expression she had after they kissed for the first time. She felt a few tears roll down her cheeks and Calypso immediately became concerned.

"O-oh god did I make you upset? J-jeez I'm sorry I-''

Ellie leaned forward and wrapped her in a hug. Calypso felt some tears in her eyes again as well and she hugged Ellie. They stayed like that until the nurse from before came and told them visiting time was over.

Ellie and Calypso let go of each other. Ellie stepped into the elevator and when Calypso said bye, she could have sworn she heard a small "bye" as the elevator doors closed.

When Ellie returned to the unit, she was blushing and smiling as she stumbled over to her chair. Nick and Jason had just finished their eleventh round of Candyland when they both looked over at her.

"Well, someone's in a good mood today!" Jason remarked with a smile.

Ellie rested her chin on her paws with a dreamy expression on her face while staring at nothing. Nick raised an eyebrow and smirked. He was about to ask her for details, but he felt a giant paw on his shoulder. He looked up to see Mason. "

"Uh hey, Mason... What's with th-"

Mason leaned in closer and growled. "Wilde, I swear to God I'm about to rip that damn pig's face off. He's trash talking Ellie, Jason, you, and Lexi. He's making that deer...Dani, I think... nervous with all his fucking yelling. She's autistic, right? Pretty sure lots of autistic people don't like loud noises. He's doing it on purpose and I swear to God I'm gonna-"

"Hey, Hey... Mason, I know. He's irritating, but if you try anything again you'll get locked in the quiet room for two days. Just stay away from him."

Mason grumbled some curse words and huffed. "I don't fucking like the way he's talking about you guys."

"I know, but he wants a reaction out of you, so I think you should just ignore his sorry ass. Besides, I heard he's gonna be out in a week to go to military school or something."

"...Fine. Thanks" Mason walked off and sat with Lexi.

Nick sighed and leaned back in his chair. He thought Mason was cool, but the temper on that guy was unbelievable. He looked over at Jason, who looked at him worriedly. "You okay?"

Nick nodded and rested his elbows on the table. "Yup... As fine as I can be."

After Sammie and Cas came back, Jason returned to his usual table with them, which left Nick with Ellie. She was still staring at nothing with that dopey grin on her face.

"So, Ellie. Care to tell me what happened?"

Ellie looked over at him and her smile got even wider as she covered here face with her paws.

"No!" She giggled

He chuckled. "You sure?"

"Yes!"

"Heh... Okay, Ellie. But the suspense is killing me, ya know."

She lowered her paws and stuck her tongue out at him, which made him chuckle even more.

After a few minutes of Ellie giggling quietly and Nick trying to find out what happened, it was time for recreational therapy. When everyone was settled in the rec room, most of the tension seemed to melt away. Between patients playing ping pong, playing catch, drawing, painting, talking, and playing computer games, the room seemed to have a very calm atmosphere. Nick and Ellie were playing a board game when Dani walked up to them quietly.

"U-um... h-hi..." She said shyly.

"Hey,... Dani, right?" Nick replied.

She nodded nervously and glanced around before speaking again. "D-do you mind if I-. If I join you guys? I- If not that's f-fine I-"

"Well, I'm glad you asked because we actually need a third player. Pull up a chair, pal."

Nick found Dani sort of ironic in a way. The Dani he read about in the book he borrowed from Jason was fierce and sassy. To be blunt, this one seemed like the exact opposite. She seemed like the type of person who couldn't order food without someone helping her.

She sat down with them and Nick organized the board game so she could join in. After a few minutes of awkward silence, he decided to try and talk to her some more.

"So... Dani. Why are you here?" He immediately cringed after asking that. He had been asked that at least 10 times in the span of a week and every time he was asked, he died a little more on the inside. Why would he ask tha-

"I tried to hang myself."

Nick looked at her and opened his mouth to say something, but what could he even say to that? Should he ask why? The rest of the game was silent. Ellie kept looking over at Dani with a worried expression on her face while Dani just stared down at the board game. After the longest hour of Nick's life, recreational therapy was done and everyone was sent to their rooms. Nick sat on his bed quietly and continued to think about Dani. She seemed nice enough. Never started fights, always lets people in front of her in the dinner line. Besides her somewhat frequent panic attacks, she's one of the quietest ones in there

"Hey, Nick... Are you alright?" Jason asked as he sat down on his own bed.

"Do you know anything about Dani. I know she sits with you guys sometimes. Has she-... well... told you anything?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Something about her just seems-... off I guess. Doesn't make any sense in a way."

Jason exhaled and, for once, set his book aside. "Honestly, it's not my place to tell you what she's told me, but she's been through a lot. I mean, you wouldn't think such a sweet animal like her could have so many bad things happen to her."

"Fair enough. She seems nice enough."

"Oh, yeah. She's an absolute angel. Ya know, her special interest is comic books. She's even made a few of her own and they're really good. Maybe ask her about them. That's how I got her to come out of her shell to us."

Nick nodded. "Yeah... I'll do that."


	17. Chapter 16

**Mason's POV**

Well, isn't this fucking fantastic? It's December 23rd and I'm still in this damn unit. I don't want to spend my Christmas in this god forsaken place! To make matters even worse, Lexi's not going to be here. She's going to be spending Hanukkah with her family or some shit. Wow, now that I think about it, I sound like a major asshole. Let me rephrase that. It's cool that she gets to spend her holiday with her family, but I wish that we could be together instead of me being stuck in this hellhole. I mean, she'll be back in a couple of days. It's not like she's getting discharged. She's just on a pass, but that doesn't make it any less difficult for me. Yeah, you can probably tell that I tend to think a bit selfishly sometimes. Then again, I feel like I have the right to think like that every once in a while. My therapist says it's normal, so I'll trust him on that. Man, I'm gonna fucking miss Lexi. This'll be one of the few times we've spent a holiday away from each other. Truth is, we knew each other long before this unit. I'd love to go into detail about it-... Wait, no I wouldn't.

 **Sammy's POV**

It's kinda weird... I'm going to be spending the holidays here, but honestly, I really don't even mind. It's not like my family would want me back in their lives anyway... Whatever. I have Jason and Cas. They're the only family I need...

 **Jason's POV**

Wow. Can't believe I'm spending Christmas in the unit... I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the people in here. Most of them, anyway. Nick and I were talking about asking the nurses to bring cookies for the unit, which could be fun. Maybe it would brighten the mood a little. Heh, Nick was actually the one with the idea. I just agreed with him. I like that about him. He's quick witted and always has a new idea for something. Heh... Yeah... He's pretty neat...

 **Lexi's POV**

Maybe I shouldn't go... I don't want to leave Mason alone... But I wanna see my family... Mason needs me, though... And to be honest I need him too. This'll be one of the first holidays that we don't spend together... I remember one of the holidays... New Year's Eve five years ago... We were both around 14 years old...

 **(THIRD PERSON)**

 _ **"BITCH!"**_

 _ **Mason jumped nearly a foot into the air when he heard the insult right outside his window. He turned around and smiled when he saw Lexi's face pressed against the window.**_

 _ **"What'dya want, buttmunch?" Mason asked, giving her a small smile as he pulled the window open.**_

 _ **Lexi sighed and rolled her eyes, but smiled back.**_

 _ **"To give you THIS, dummy!" She handed him a small box wrapped closed with a green ribbon.**_

 _ **"Well, I'll be damned, Lexi," Mason said as he held the box in his massive paw. "You got me a present this year instead of throwing a piece of cake at my window."**_

 _ **"That was ONE time!" Lexi exclaimed, sitting on his windowsill.**_

 _ **He let out a small chuckle and reached over to grab a medium sized, sloppily wrapped box off of his messy desk. "Whatever. Here**_ ya _ **go, cotton tail."**_

 _ **She smirked and took it from him. "Wow. You've really outdone yourself with this wrapping paper" She said sarcastically.**_

 _ **"Yeah, yeah. Just open it, loser."**_

 _ **They both opened their presents at the same time. Lexi held back a laugh as Mason groaned when he saw his present.**_

 _ **"Really, Lexi? Come on." He sighed with a hint of amusement in his voice.**_

 _ **He held a $15 gift card to hot topic in his paw. "You know I got over my hot topic phase last year."**_

 _ **"Sure, edge lord. SUUURE." She giggled as she opened her gift. She looked inside the box and let out a sarcastic laugh.**_

 _ **"HA. WOW. Thanks, asshole." She pulled a sweater with the words 'World's okayest friend' printed on it.**_

 _ **Mason shrugged and smirked. "No prob, Bob."**_

 **Dani's POV**

This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. I don't wanna be here. Then again, I don't wanna go home. I want my comic books. I hate this, I hate me, I hate everything right now. I'm so STUPID! Jeez... I can feel another anxiety attack coming. Why can't I just chill out? Anxiety sucks nuts... I just wanna see Cherri again... I miss her. We could've been sitting in the snow drinking hot chocolate right now, but noooo. I just HAD to-... fuck up. She's probably pissed right now...

 **Cas's POV**

You wanna know what the shittiest part about this whole situation is? The fact that Ellie doesn't get a pass out. Like, holy shit! She's been here for six months. She's saying at least one word a day now. That's progress! Why can't she spend her holiday with her family or friends or whatever she has?!... Does she even have any family or friends? Who the hell knows. I just want to see her leave, to be honest. She's been in this hell hole long enough. She should get to go live her life. Ugh, I'm pissed at everything at the moment.


End file.
